Chapter 436: Sleeping Dragon Mountains
Chapter 436: Sleeping Dragon Mountains
〈Reminiscence〉
A cool breeze swept through, rustling the hair of the countless Users gathered there. A woman’s jet-black hair scattered softly in the air before swaying gently and settling back into place.
Han Soyoung, the ‘Iron-Blooded Queen.’ As her title suggested, she was a woman who rarely batted an eye at anything, but right now, her eyes were filled with an inexplicable tension.
Her gaze was fixed on a flatland surrounded by high-altitude mountains. But it was hard to see clearly. The basin, shrouded in a pale white mist, emanated a gloomy and desolate aura that seemed to root the Users looking down into it to the spot.
Again, the wind blew.
This gust was also cool, but it felt different. It was unpleasant and sticky, a wind that felt like a warning. As if to say, “Come any closer, and you will die.”
A moment later, a man stepped up beside the woman. Clad in slightly faded chain mail, he gripped a large axe tightly with both hands. But his hands trembled faintly, and a drop or two of sweat beaded on his brow, showing that he, too, was extremely tense.
At last, the man spoke, his expression cautious.
“Clan Lord. The Queen’s Army you summoned has not returned.”
“…I know. I confirmed their annihilation five minutes ago.”
The woman acknowledged it calmly. The man’s eyes widened, his shock evident; he clearly hadn’t expected to hear the word ‘annihilation.’
The woman let out a soft, short breath and turned her head to look at the clan members standing in neat formation behind her.
Istantel Low Clan.
They were as powerful as their reputation across the Northern Continent suggested, but the expressions on their faces were no different from the woman’s or the man’s. In fact, some even showed flashes of fear, clearly overwhelmed by the aura flowing from the basin before them.
“…Should we just turn back?”
Her voice was tinged with a hint of regret. The woman turned her head again, her gaze falling upon the basin with a look of longing. It seemed a waste to turn back now after all the trouble they went through to get here.
But the others didn't seem to share her sentiment. The man calmly shook his head and tried to placate her.
“Clan Lord, please remember User Jung Changmin’s final moments. He warned us not to go inside, even as he drew his last breath. We may have somehow made it this far, but we might have to pay an even greater price to conquer the ruin.”
User Jung Changmin. Until a day ago, he had been a member of Istantel Low Clan, a User famous for his ability to handle barriers. He was also the unfortunate User who had been devoured by the ‘Sleeping Dragon Mountains’ due to a single mistake.
‘Malice, screams, despair, murderous intent, hatred… In any case, the deeper you go, the more you feel some kind of terribly unpleasant energy. Clan Lord. To be honest, I really didn’t want to go there. I’m sorry….’
The woman was silent for a long while. She closed her eyes, a habit of hers. After chewing on her lip for some time, she finally broke the silence with a single phrase.
“Let’s go back.”
The woman’s declaration of surrender had finally been made. As she turned around completely, the clan members who had been watching all wore expressions of relief.
At the same time, a long sigh escaped the lips of a young man standing at the very back.
*
“I don’t like this.”
It was very late. Exhausted from today’s forced march, the clan members had crawled into their sleeping bags right after dinner. Only Heo Junyoung and I remained, standing night watch.
Tak, tak-tak!
Just as I was about to toss a piece of split firewood into the fire, my eyes drifted toward Heo Junyoung. I had been lost in thought for a moment, so my reaction was delayed. I finally tossed the log into the blazing campfire, and sparks flew up once more.
Only after confirming the embers were rekindled did I speak.
“What is it? Going to rescue Ahn Hyun and Hangyul?”
“Everything. Going to rescue Ahn Hyun, and the fact that I have to participate in something like this.”
The fact that I have to participate in something like this, huh.
I watched Heo Junyoung calmly. For a man, his long hair, which reached his waist, had a dark violet sheen. He wore a black, coat-like mail, its surface etched with unknown patterns that emitted a faint glow.
Heo Junyoung’s eyes were gently closed, his sword resting on his lap. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but the atmosphere around him felt dark overall. The sheathed sword on his lap felt warmer than the man himself.
As if sensing my gaze, Heo Junyoung finally opened his eyes and met mine. His irises were a deep violet, just like his hair.
“A year ago. Right when I had just joined the Mercenary Clan, something similar to this happened.”
“A year ago?”
I asked, puzzled, and tried to recall the events of a year ago.
My first encounter with Heo Junyoung was when I was part of the Vagabond extermination squad. We had received intel on the Vagabonds’ hideout and set out to eliminate them, but when we arrived, we found another User who had gotten there a step ahead of us.
That User was Heo Junyoung. He was fighting alone against nearly a hundred Vagabonds, including their leaders.
Heo Junyoung back then… well. I remember he was putting up a decent fight, but he was in a pretty dangerous situation due to the Vagabonds’ organized response. So, the extermination squad and I immediately supported him and wiped out the Vagabonds completely.
Of course, Heo Junyoung didn’t join us right away. He offered a simple thanks, said, “I’ll repay this debt someday,” and left abruptly. I just remembered his Player Status and went on my way.
Coincidentally, my reunion with Heo Junyoung was orchestrated by Lee Hyoeul, the Guardian of the Northern Continent. It turned out Heo Junyoung’s role was to act as Lee Hyoeul’s hands and feet, helping her from the shadows. His mission to deal with the Vagabonds had also been at her request.
At the time, Lee Hyoeul had found a successor. Since she was planning to step down as Guardian as soon as the handover was complete, she was also preparing to end her contract with Heo Junyoung.
So, Lee Hyoeul suggested that since they were both quitting, it might be a good idea for the Mercenary Clan to recruit Heo Junyoung in advance.
After that, Heo Junyoung and I talked for a bit, and he joined after going through the official procedures.
It was a good thing for me, as I gained a User on par with Nam Daeun. For Heo Junyoung, it was a way to repay the debt he felt he owed.
My thoughts trailed on, one after another. Thinking I hadn’t remembered, Heo Junyoung spoke in a slightly frustrated tone.
“I’m talking about Ahn Hyun. Didn’t something similar happen a year ago? And it was quite a hassle to clean up the mess.”
“Ah, that. Still… you can’t compare then and now.”
I replied with a faint smile, but Heo Junyoung slowly shook his head.
“Isn’t it ultimately the same thing? Things seemed to quiet down a bit after that incident, but that reckless fool has caused trouble again. He didn’t follow your orders then, and he hasn’t now.”
“That’s true.”
“…So how about we just leave him be? Honestly, after this incident, I’m completely fed up with him. If he’s lucky, he’ll come back alive. If he’s not, well, that can’t be helped. Do we really have to…”
“That’s not an option.”
I cut him off flatly and continued in a firm voice.
“I’ve decided to save them both, and the rescue team has already come this far. I understand what you’re saying, but I have no intention of changing my mind or turning back. If you want to go back, go alone.”
Tak-tak! Tak-tak!
The fire suddenly flared, sending fierce sparks flying in all directions. Heo Junyoung shook his head slightly, as if one had hit him.
Only after a long pause did he speak again, slowly.
“…I don’t want that.”
“The Sleeping Dragon Mountains are a dangerous place. It’ll be tough even if we work together. It’s a problem if you’re already being uncooperative.”
“It was just a thought. And now that I think about it, Hangyul is there too, so I suppose we have no choice but to go in.”
“It’s unavoidable.”
I smiled bitterly. What he’d said just now was more of a habit than his true feelings. This guy had a habit of grumbling right up until the end, even though he would eventually lend his strength. Sometimes, it felt like I was dealing with a prim cat. Well, calling a man a cat is a bit of an odd fit, but still.
It was then.
“Hm?”
“Hmph.”
Just as I reached for more firewood as the flames began to die down again, Heo Junyoung and I simultaneously turned our heads to one side. We had both felt faint vibrations coming from the ground. The vibrations, like something was tunneling, were still steadily palpable.
Jackal Lords… about thirty of them.
Jackal Lords. Simply put, they were underground monsters. Their bodies were optimized for digging and living underground, and they were vicious creatures that attacked Users in their sleep.
Ssshk, shrrring!
“Come to think of it, isn’t it about time to change the watch… I’ll be back. You go to sleep first.”
Heo Junyoung immediately stood up and drew his sword with a flourish. The blade was incredibly thin, but it was so long that it was nearly as tall as he was. As he slowly rested the sword on his shoulder, I spoke blankly.
“I can go with you.”
“No need. It doesn’t look like they’re the ones following us… As for these Ground Diggers, it doesn’t matter if a few dozen of them show up.”
The ones following us.
Heo Junyoung answered offhandedly. I listened to his words carefully.
The ‘ones following us’ he just mentioned were likely the Users or Vagabonds who had been tailing us, more or less, since we left Monica. They were so skilled at maintaining their distance that I only had a vague sense of being followed, but this guy’s intuition was incredibly sharp.
“Anyway, I’ll take care of them quickly, so don’t worry and get some sleep.”
At Heo Junyoung’s assurance, I nodded and got up. With his level of skill, a hundred of those so-called ‘Ground Diggers’ would be a joke.
“Should I at least wake the next watch?”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll wake them when I get back. If you have a smoke, give me one.”
When he asked for a cigarette, I took one out and tossed it to him. He caught it precisely with his slender fingers. The moment he leaped lightly off the ground, his body vanished as if he had used Flash Step. Like me, he had a Secret Class with high Agility.
I gave the fire a final check and then settled into my sleeping bag.
Soon, I could faintly hear the sound of darkness surging up from one side, the sound of the earth being torn apart, and screams that I presumed belonged to the Jackal Lords.
With those sounds as my lullaby, I slowly drifted off to sleep.
*
The morning was clear and the sky was blue, though there was a light fog.
We had a simple meal and set out early. As we departed, I heard Ahn Sol and Yoojung say they had slept well; they seemed unaware that we had nearly been attacked by Jackal Lords.
I reflexively glanced at Heo Junyoung, and he answered by silently shaking his head. It wasn’t in his nature to boast, and it seemed he preferred to let the matter pass quietly.
The Sleeping Dragon Mountains were a region about a three-week journey northwest from the small western city of Dorothy.
A three-week journey might suggest that some Users would have reached it, but the mountain range was classified as a so-called unexplored region. This was because the path was treacherous, and troublesome monsters often appeared in swarms.
Our party alone had already crossed the Red Desert and the Magnetic Wasteland, and passed through a murky swamp. Once we crossed the foggy plains we were currently walking through, a rugged, mountainous region of winding ranges would appear. That was the beginning of the unexplored territory.
I sank into my thoughts.
In the 1st playthrough, the Northern Continent had been stabilized and conquered in its entirety before the assault on the Steel Mountains. But there was one exception: the Sleeping Dragon Mountains.
The last clan to challenge it was Istantel Low Clan, the clan I had belonged to. Although we suffered one casualty, we managed to succeed in reaching the very entrance of the ruin. In the end, however, Han Soyoung chose to turn back with the ruin right before her eyes.
The casualty from Istantel Low Clan at that time was a User named Jung Changmin, who had a knack for handling barriers. He lost his life in a moment of carelessness, but just before he died, he left me with his last words.
‘Soohyun-ah… If by some chance the Clan Lord-nim… insists on going, even if the other clan members try to stop her… you have to be the one to stop her…’
‘She’s very fond of you, after all. Haha… She probably won’t be so stubborn if everyone objects… but still, I’m asking you. Something… feels wrong. And…’
In the end, Han Soyoung relented at the persuasion of her clan members. Afterward, following Jung Changmin’s last wish, she erected a large-scale sealing barrier around the ruin and concluded the expedition by simply clearing out the inside of the mountain range.
Although it was officially announced as a stabilization upon their return, it could hardly be considered a complete conquest. They hadn’t explored the ruin itself, but had merely sealed it to prevent whatever was inside from getting out.
And.
There was another mystery here: the existence of Users who had gone missing within the mountain range.
In both the 1st and 2nd playthroughs, the Users who went missing in the mountains vanished without a trace. Normally, there should have been bodies at the very least, but not even corpses were found. Many Users speculated they might be inside the ruin, but since the ruin itself was sealed, this speculation remained just that.
Thinking that I might have to explore the ruin, I turned my thoughts to the history surrounding the mountain range.
Even in the ancient Hall Plain, there was a great war recorded in the myths of old. A battle between the dragons that ruled the continent and the humans who sought to break free from their dominion.
According to the records, the final victors were clearly the humans. The Residents of the mythical era won the final battle. And the Dragon of the End, Magna Carta, laid a curse upon the final battlefield with its soul as collateral just before it died.
However, there are no records of what happened after that. Normally, there should have been at least a brief mention of the outcome, but the record ends with the humans winning the battle and the dragon laying its curse.
In any case, the place where the decades-long battle came to an end was precisely where we were headed.
“Wow. So then? What happened next?”
As we marched steadily, Ahn Sol’s eyes sparkled as she asked. I had been telling her a simple version of the ancient myth as we walked, and it seemed to have piqued her interest.
I slowly shook my head at Ahn Sol, who was tugging at my arm with a look of immense curiosity.
“I don’t know what happened after that. It’s not in the records. If you’re curious, you can look it up yourself when we get back.”
“Aww… The Dragon of the End, Magna Carta… I’m so curious…”
Ahn Sol kept tilting her head, still holding my arm tightly. Watching her for a moment, I spoke quietly.
“You don’t seem very worried.”
“Huh? Worried?”
“About Ahn Hyun. Your brother.”
“Oh~. Nope. I’m not that worried. My brother has the vitality of a cockroach~. Besides, you’re on your way to rescue him, Orabeoni. Hehe.”
Ahn Sol beamed brightly. As if to prove she was really fine, she even started swinging the arm she was holding.
Is he still alive, then?
Just as I was debating whether to take this reaction as a comfort, Nam Daeun suddenly sidled up to us and spoke to Ahn Sol with a grin.
“Our Sol. You must really like the Clan Lord-nim.”
“Yes! I like our Orabeoni most in the whole worl— Huh? H-huh? U-Unni, why are you suddenly dragging me away like that?”
“Oh, it’s just because our Sol is so cute.”
“Uh, uh…?”
Ahn Sol, who had her arms spread wide, was caught by Nam Daeun and began to be dragged away. As I watched her flail her hands in the air, I rotated my now much freer arm. Just then…
“Ugh…! Ugh…!”
A faint groan came from the rear of the formation. It was Hangyul’s voice. I immediately halted the march and rushed over to Shin Jaeryong, who was currently carrying Hangyul on his back.
“What’s wrong?”
When I reached them in a single stride, Shin Jaeryong had laid Hangyul down and was looking down at him with a worried expression. He let out a light sigh and clicked his tongue.
“Hangyul suddenly…”
“What’s his condition?”
“He was fine until last night. But he suddenly started to be in pain as we reached the edge of the foggy plains. No. He was struggling, then he looked terrified, and now he’s in pain. Healing spells aren’t working either… I’m not sure what’s going on.”
“…Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue involuntarily. Of course healing spells wouldn’t work. The Hangyul before our eyes was just an empty shell, or half of one.
I placed a hand on his chest. Thankfully, his heart was still beating. However, it was much weaker than when we had set out, so much so that it wouldn’t be strange if it stopped at any moment.
“It looks like we’ll have to force the march again. User Shin Jaeryong, I’m counting on you.”
“It’s no problem. I’m quite strong for a priest.”
Shin Jaeryong shook his head and lifted Hangyul into his arms again.
As I watched the clan members prepare for another forced march, I bit my lip. Honestly, we had been rushing without rest until now, and I had wanted to give them some time to recover their stamina before facing the mountain range. I had tried to avoid a forced march as much as possible, but the situation wouldn’t allow it.
The preparations were finished in an instant. Just before we set off again, I paused for a moment and looked back.
The presence that had been secretly following us until last night could no longer be felt as of this morning. Just in case, I glanced at Heo Junyoung. He was also looking back, and then he shook his head.
I addressed the clan members.
“We’ll rest for three minutes. After this, we likely won’t be able to rest until we find Hangyul, so you can consider this your last break.”
After speaking quickly, I moved swiftly to the side, putting some distance between myself and the clan members. At the same time, I gave Ko Yeonju a look. Understanding at once, she quietly followed me.
“Soohyun. What is it?”
“The presence that was following us until yesterday has disappeared. Were you aware?”
Getting straight to the point, I asked. Ko Yeonju’s eyes widened, but she soon nodded, indicating she had known as well.
“Yes. To be precise, I think they retreated after breakfast, when we reached the edge of the plains. It seems they were curious whether we were entering the mountain range or not… though I don’t know why.”
“That’s exactly it.”
“Pardon?”
Ko Yeonju tilted her head. I scanned our surroundings once more, then approached her and placed my hands on her shoulders. She flinched for a moment, then looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“User Ko Yeonju. You need to listen carefully to what I’m about to say. I have an important favor to ask of you.”
“An important favor? It’s not… you’re not telling me to go back, are you?”
“I’m sorry, but you’re right.”
“…What.”
Ko Yeonju was speechless for a moment. But soon, with a whimper, she collapsed into my arms.
“Huhu~. You’re so mean~.”
“I’m sorry. But this is something only you can do.”
I also felt bad telling her to go back after coming all this way, but it couldn’t be helped. This wasn’t an impulsive thought; it was an idea that had come to me when I saw Kim Sujeong in the meeting room. And I became almost certain of it when I sensed the group following us. The reason I brought Yoojung along in the first place was to fill the void Ko Yeonju would leave.
“…Something only I can do?”
“Yes. From now on, you must return to the city without anyone knowing.”
The group that had been secretly following us was likely doing so to confirm whether the rescue team would enter the mountain range, just as Ko Yeonju had said.
To be more precise, they were probably trying to confirm the participation of the ‘Shadow Queen’ and whether she would leave midway. Because when it came to information and tracking, there was no one more formidable than Ko Yeonju.
Of course, this is all just speculation for now…
I trusted my instincts, honed by ten years of working in the shadows during the 1st playthrough. This whole incident felt incredibly fishy and smelled rotten.
“The important thing is that you must return without anyone knowing.”
As I repeated my words with emphasis, Ko Yeonju’s crying abruptly stopped.
I felt the head buried in my chest slowly lift.
“Soohyun. What is this about?”
Her languid voice tickled my ear. When I glanced down, I could see Ko Yeonju with a deep smile playing on her lips.
A moment later, I spoke in a whisper.