Chapter 261: A Boss Right from the Start?
Chapter 261: A Boss Right from the Start?
“Ugh… Does that mean we have to go all the way back up?” Ahn Sol muttered with a pout, a thought seemingly striking her in the middle of her sightseeing. Ko Yeonju, who had been nodding silently, suddenly wore a look of inspiration. She began to stroke Ahn Sol’s head, a slight smile playing on her lips as she whispered into the girl’s ear.
“This time, you have to beat that guy. Fighting.”
“Huh…?”
“Think about it carefully. If you lose… your respected Orabeoni will fall into a world teeming with men. BL, or was it Boys Love?”
“!”
Please, stop putting weird ideas in her head… And why are you suddenly burning with fighting spirit?
The moment she heard Ko Yeonju’s words, the question marks floating above Ahn Sol’s head instantly turned into exclamation points. Seeing her clench her fists, her eyes blazing, all I could do was let out a deep sigh. My head throbbed, but I simply crushed their plan by stating, “We’ll be going up individually.”
After taking a moment to look at the surrounding scenery, we decided to take some time to prepare. It was nothing more than a simple equipment check and formation alignment, but there was nothing more effective for refreshing the mood.
“I don’t see any corpses…” Kim Hanbyul said cautiously, the words from the crystal ball clearly on her mind.
“It’s hard to say this is the real entrance yet. The true entrance might appear as we make our way up. And…”
As I cautiously brought it up, I saw their slightly relaxed faces tense up once more.
“We don’t have to believe everything that man said.”
“What? But…”
“We can use it as a reference, but we don’t need to believe it blindly. From now on, we only need to trust what we see and experience for ourselves.”
“……”
I spoke with more force in my voice and moved to the front of the group. Channeling power into my eyes, I scanned the area ahead and confirmed that the trail continued ahead. Including the older ones, there were an excessive number of them.
Maybe it’s true that the Vagabonds are still alive.
I pondered for a moment, but I felt that we’d only find a proper answer by facing it head-on. After all, we had arrived here much, much earlier than in the first playthrough. With my thoughts organized, I finally gave the signal to begin our exploration of the ruins.
“Alright, let’s move out.”
*
After crossing the magic boundary and entering the ruins, a quick check confirmed that the field effect wasn’t active inside. In other words, we no longer needed to waste any jewels here.
The ancient Magic City Magia. No User knew just how long and storied the history of the Hall Plain was. However, according to the ancient records remaining in the city, it had experienced periods of great prosperity as well as periods of decline so severe it neared ruin over the course of its immense history.
For example, the current Residents would probably feel like they were living in an age of ruin. But Magia was a city of mages built during an ancient era of prosperity; it was essentially a city built around a Magic Tower.
After about an hour of tracking, we finally found the stairs leading up to the entrance. Though it showed signs of age and wear, it seemed to have been built so sturdily that we felt no anxiety climbing it. However, the sheer length of the staircase seemed to be another source of despair for the others.
“If you lived here, you wouldn’t need a separate workout routine, Hyung,” Ahn Hyun groaned, clearly struggling to climb with his heavy equipment.
“We’re almost there. Just hang in there a little longer,” I said, patting him on the back as I turned my gaze to calmly observe the canyon and the city’s layout.
The city, built in a way that seemed to cling to the steep canyon walls, was a truly magnificent sight. Seeing the buildings line the canyon felt like looking at a natural fortress blessed by the heavens. It was said that the level of magic in the ancient Hall Plain was quite impressive, and this city offered a glimpse into that past.
“Phew. We made it. I thought I was going to die from exhaustion.”
“Hey, look down.”
“Huh? Whoa.”
“This is insane. So this is what it feels like to be dizzy from the height.”
We had finally climbed the seemingly endless staircase. Leaving the others to massage their thighs and chatter amongst themselves, I looked ahead and saw an entrance leading into a wide-open interior not far away. And as we walked toward it, the sense of discrepancy I had first felt after crossing the boundary intensified.
Everything had stopped. Not a shred of vitality could be felt in the city. Vitality. This didn’t just apply to living creatures. It was the unique energy that all things, not just living beings, naturally possessed.
But the closer we got to the entrance before us, the stronger the impression I got that all life force was dead. If so, there were two possible answers for this situation. Either someone had intentionally manipulated the space, or some incident had occurred that made the influence of deathly energy far greater than that of life.
In Magia’s case, it’s more likely the former.
We advanced cautiously, remaining vigilant of our surroundings. The moment we passed the entrance, everyone had already drawn their weapons or begun chanting spells in preparation.
‘The sight that we, who had been so cheerful, had to face the moment we set foot in the ruins was none other than countless piles of corpses. The moment we saw the half-rotting bodies strewn about everywhere, we instinctively knew something was wrong.’
‘And the moment we entered the city, we couldn’t help but be surprised. Dozens of people were waiting for us inside.’
There were no corpses, and no people in sight. The interior of the canyon city was vast. Although each building was tall and large, they weren’t packed tightly together; they were built with considerable distance between them. As we slowly moved forward, observing the ancient murals on the walls, I heard Ko Yeonju’s quiet voice from behind me.
“There are no… corpses. Does that mean the man was mistaken, or that he lied…? Well, I suppose we’ll know more once we go deeper. So, where should we go now?”
“Oppa, what about over there? Doesn’t it look like it’s full of expensive stuff?”
As Ko Yeonju murmured, Lee Yoojung immediately stepped forward and pointed in one direction. There, a massive, dome-shaped structure stood with magnificent grandeur, much like a cathedral. And just as Lee Yoojung said, it was an ultra-luxurious building that retained a distinctly high-class atmosphere.
“Woah. It’s huge.”
“That building… you’re right. It looks like even the windows are made of crystal.”
As Kim Hanbyul added her comment, the clan members showed immense interest. The idea that even the windows were made of crystal, a type of jewel, seemed to capture their attention. An expedition always ends with a reward. I couldn’t blame them for being greedy for that reward, but unfortunately, Magia was not a place to be taken lightly. In any case, I couldn’t explain the full details, so I decided to divert their attention another way.
“Going in there would be nice, but for now, let’s focus more on exploring the city.”
“Soohyun, have you decided where to go?”
“Yes. Our first objective is right over there.”
“Where… Oh?”
Following the street we were on, if you looked far ahead, you could see another, separate canyon. It wasn’t a long, natural canyon like the Canyon of Illusions, but more of a gap that felt artificial, as if it were man-made. In the center of this eighty-meter-wide chasm was a straight bridge connecting to another area beyond.
“I didn’t expect there to be a bridge. Is the city divided?”
“Something like that. This city was originally called a paradise for mages. Looking at the buildings on this side, I think this was the living space for ordinary Residents. The other side was likely a place frequented by those with an interest in magic.”
This was my way of saying there was a high chance of a bigger prize over there, so we shouldn’t waste time and just go. The moment I saw the eyes of a few clan members sparkle at my words, Ahn Hyun, who had been listening quietly beside me, spoke up with a look of realization.
“Ah, then the mage who kidnapped the hero and the elf queen might have been the leader of this place?”
“Yes. That’s one way to think about it.”
“Hehe. I knew it. Ahem!”
“……”
…Does he really like being praised by me that much?
I had only given a light nod, but Ahn Hyun suddenly straightened his neck proudly and looked back at Ahn Sol and Lee Yoojung. What was even more confusing was their reaction—the two girls pouted.
Letting out a soft sigh, I activated Sensing. Still nothing. Not even an ant could be seen; it was as if we were the only ones wandering through a city where everyone had vanished. But I knew that wasn’t the case, so I continued to move forward at a slow pace.
We had managed to climb the stairs, what I considered the first hurdle, without taking any damage. There were two points left, with the third and final objective being to enter the tower. That meant we first needed to cross the bridge, our second objective.
*
The first time I felt something was wrong was after we had been walking toward the bridge for about thirty minutes. Even at a slow pace, thirty minutes should have been more than enough time to arrive. But the more we walked, the stranger it became; we couldn't seem to reach the bridge.
Just as I thought. So, they’re not going to let us pass so easily from now on, huh?
Although we hadn’t suffered any harm, I couldn’t take this lightly, considering who we were up against. I immediately activated Third Eye, and a dry laugh escaped my lips at the sight that came into view. I had intentionally kept it off at the beginning, thinking the view might be too different from what the clan members were seeing, but this was the only way to avoid such a high-level prank.
Ignoring everything else and focusing on the area around the bridge, I could see a Path Barrier spread out in a wide, circular shape. It was similar in nature to the barrier I had seen when searching for the Ancient Alchemist Vivian’s Dungeon, but this one was on a much higher level. It was a nasty barrier that would send you right back to the start if you took a single misstep.
With the barrier in sight, I began to take careful steps forward. As a result, we had to change our formation and walk in a single file line. It was an unavoidable decision, as there was a path in the middle that only one person could cross at a time.
Everyone was focused, stepping only where I had left my footprints. As the bridge, which had seemed so distant, slowly began to get closer, I was on high alert. Sensing was, of course, active. But in the middle of my careful advance, I was suddenly forced to stop.
A cold, eerie chill swept past the nape of my neck. My eyes shot open at the inexplicable goosebumps as I stared ahead.
Someone is here.
As I stood still and waited, I could only feel the others peering from behind me. Sensing hadn't picked up anything, but I had stopped because I felt a sense of unease—a unique intuition I had honed through countless bloody battles. It was then.
Clack, clack.
There had been a precursor to the footsteps, but I had only just heard them. There was no one in front of me a moment ago, but now, a person appeared out of thin air. Pushing past my surprise, I observed the person and saw a woman with long, straight hair, a beauty mark under her eye, and cat-like features. Her face made her look strongly like an Earthling or a User, but she was dressed in an outfit that looked like a maid’s uniform.
“Hello~.”
The woman walked toward us, stopping a short distance away. She was smiling so broadly that her eyes were completely hidden. As she gently lifted the hem of her skirt with both hands and bowed her head respectfully in greeting, a stir of murmurs rose from the clan members behind me. I raised a hand to quiet them and immediately read her information.
〈Player Status〉
1. Name: Kwon Sora (fourth-year)
2. Class: Mage (Normal, Mage, Expert)
3. Nation: -
4. Clan: -
5. True Name · Nationality: Forced Puppet · Republic of Korea
6. Sex: Female (25)
7. Height · Weight: 168.2cm · 52.8kg
8. Alignment: Marionette · Evil
[Strength 45] [Durability 38] [Agility 51] [Stamina 39] [Magic Power 71] [Luck 63]
(No remaining stat points.)
(Currently brainwashed by powerful mental magic. This state has persisted for over a year, and her spirit is as good as dead.)
(Her body is in a vegetative state. Without the magic sustaining her current condition, this User would not last a single day.)
(A single bottle of Elixir can fully restore her physical condition. However, her mind cannot be recovered.)
“A sincere welcome to the Magic City Magia! That’s what my master asked me to tell you! Well, that’s not from me, of course. Uninvited guests? Hoho.”
The woman straightened up from her bow and continued speaking, the smile slowly fading from her eyes. And through the gap of her opened eyelids, I could see her pupils—they were out of focus, a deep, lifeless gray.