Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 029
Chapter Title: Savior of Seoul (7)
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The Monster Wave that was certain to go down in human history as the worst catastrophe ever. Yet Korea's players repelled it with minimal damage.
"It's finally over...!"
Thud.
The orcs' assault had been more ferocious than expected. Contrary to predictions of an easy suppression, they struggled, and casualties piled up in various places.
Of course, no players had died. There weren't any players dumb enough to get killed by mere orcs.
But it was different for civilians.
"R-Run away!"
"Uwaaak!"
"Kya aaak!"
Kwachik! Kwadeuduk!
Civilians were torn apart or devoured by the merciless orcs. Some even tried resisting with kitchen knives, but it was futile. Instead, they were toyed with like playthings before being slaughtered.
"S-Spare... me...!"
Crunch!!
Still, the damage wasn't too severe. Thanks to the players' aggressive hunting, the orcs hadn't spread out.
"Damn monster bastards."
"Die!!"
Puk!!
The last resisting orc collapsed. Korea's players glared at the orc rotting away into a black sludge as they lowered their weapons.
"Is it really over now?"
"Who knows. But they've stopped spewing out monsters... Maybe it'll stay quiet for a while?"
"Still, don't let your guard down. No one knows what'll happen once night deepens."
"True. It won't just pass peacefully."
"I want to rest properly."
"At least we can catch a breather for now."
Korea's players took a moment to breathe, praying the night would pass without incident.
Bae Jin-cheol received special information from his constellation, the Demon God.
"The National Cemetery...!"
There was only one National Cemetery in Seoul: the Seoul National Cemetery!
And it was a place Bae Jin-cheol had visited several times in the past.
"Dongjak Station!!"
The Demon God's warning fell on deaf ears. Bae Jin-cheol was thrilled at the thought of seizing a special opportunity.
Thump thump!!
'This time, I absolutely won't screw up!!'
37 points. Not a terribly low score, but far from enough to rank high.
So Bae Jin-cheol slipped out of Myeongdong unnoticed and headed toward Dongjak Station, where the Seoul National Cemetery was located.
'I'll definitely turn this around!!'
Lee Sang-hyun's artifact discovered in Euryelle's birdcages turned out to be, unexpectedly, a hand mirror.
"Mirror of Truth... I don't need it right now, but a day will come when I do."
It wasn't some prophecy. Just a judgment based on the item's grade. Five stars was the highest.
Lee Sang-hyun tucked the Mirror of Truth into his subspace pouch.
"Now all that's left is heading up to the third floor."
There were no lifeforms detected by his senses. And he hadn't seen any other beings during the fight with Euryelle.
Well, considering Euryelle's obsession with beauty, there were surely no other "monsters" around.
"Where are the stairs?"
But no stairs were visible. No matter how he looked around, there were no traces of them.
"Then..."
Just in case, Lee Sang-hyun smashed the remaining birdcages.
Kwachik! Kwadeuduk!
Thanks to Euryelle having destroyed most of them, it wasn't hard. Just a few hundred left.
'As expected...'
Soon, all remaining birdcages were shattered. Then something dropped from the ceiling.
Clang!
It was a birdcage. An ornate one glowing with red light, about two meters tall, and oddly, its door was wide open.
As if inviting him inside.
"......"
Lee Sang-hyun eyed the birdcage warily, suspecting a trap.
'...No other way.'
But there was no path other than entering the birdcage.
'Let's go.'
Lee Sang-hyun stepped inside, senses on high alert. The door slammed shut behind him with a click!
Surprisingly, the inside of the birdcage contained a vast space. It felt distorted, like something half-erased.
'Statues?'
What caught Lee Sang-hyun's eye were statues. Human-shaped ones carved from stone, with expressions so lifelike they seemed alive.
'...Not taxidermy, right?'
Their detail sparked horrifying thoughts. Given the location, it wasn't impossible.
'...Just stone.'
Upon closer inspection, they were indeed hard stone. He could smash them if needed.
'Hm?'
Suddenly, the number of statues increased.
'...Three?'
There had been one just moments ago, but in the blink of an eye, there were three.
Lee Sang-hyun frowned at the eerie phenomenon.
'...They multiply when I look away?'
Testing it, he turned his head, and the statues jumped to nine.
"......"
Their shapes varied: one weeping, one covering its eyes, one hugging its knees, one with mouth agape—each exuding an uncanny vibe.
'Need to check.'
To confirm if they tripled, he turned again.
The nine became exactly twenty-seven.
Fortunately, they weren't like "Weeping Angels." Just smashable stone lumps that multiplied by three every time, including the broken ones.
'What's the point of multiplying?'
The statues kept multiplying endlessly. They'd exceeded a certain number, and Lee Sang-hyun alone couldn't stop it.
'Maybe reach a specific count... and a quest appears?'
That was the only thing he could think of.
A moment later.
The endless multiplication stopped.
Find and Kill the Gargoyle
📍 Human Statues Increased: 43,046,721
⏰ Time Limit: 12 hours
(Destroying a human statue reduces time by 30 minutes)
🎁 Success: Key
💀 Failure: ??
"A quest, as expected."
An annoyingly tricky one, too.
There were no special clues. Maybe the first statue he'd seen was the gargoyle? But he'd already smashed that one first.
"......"
Well, that didn't mean there was no way. Using the Mirror of Truth from Euryelle's birdcage would reveal the gargoyle pretending to be a statue.
But he didn't want to. It felt too contrived, like it was designed to force him to use it.
'If this is a trap luring me to use the Mirror of Truth... Better save it as a last resort.'
Lee Sang-hyun set the mirror aside and searched for another method.
The obvious one: find what wasn't human.
Why specify "human statues" if plain statues would do? There had to be a reason.
Of course, it seemed too straightforward. Then he spotted a monster-shaped statue.
"......"
Standing awkwardly amid human-shaped ones, it was blatantly out of place.
Obvious trap.
'...But have to check.'
No other options. Lee Sang-hyun smashed the monster statue.
Kwadeuduk.
It crumbled into dust. As expected, nothing.
'As I thought...'
No big disappointment since he'd anticipated it. Just a slight pity.
Lee Sang-hyun shook it off and started from scratch.
Which statue is the gargoyle?
What does a gargoyle look like?
How to distinguish it?
His thoughts deepened with each iteration.
As the players predicted, monsters burst out of the tower under cover of darkness.
"Those guys..."
They were Black Wolves—the ones that had inflicted horrific deaths on players in the tutorial.
Tat! Tat! Ta-at!
Despite quadrupedal gait, their massive bodies dwarfed orcs, exuding menace. Their eyes gleamed with feral hunger, far wilder and fiercer than in the tutorial. Starved for blood, clearly.
"...Mutt bastards."
"Won't let us rest easy."
"Annoying."
"I wanna wash up quick. Let's end this fast."
But the players showed no fear. They'd fought them to exhaustion in the final trial.
Honestly, it even felt boring. Black Wolves were the best they could muster?
"Don't drop your guard, everyone! More might come besides these."
"If each one's leader-tier... Could be a hassle."
"We win if we stay sharp."
"Kill 'em quick and sleep."
"...Such a pain."
Of course, the players didn't slacken. They prepared for battle, vigilantly watching the Black Wolves.
Awoooo!!
If the silent observer Nameless gave a hint, he could pass easily, right?
Even the fight with Euryelle would've been a loss without Nameless's help.
But Nameless just watched, offering no hints.
'Figure it out myself, huh.'
Made sense. Nameless was the taciturn constellation who only spoke when absolutely necessary.
Lee Sang-hyun gave up on Nameless's aid and pondered deeply again.
Then a spark.
'It was definitely "kill the gargoyle," right?'
A subtle word difference. Human statues were "destroyed," but the gargoyle was "find and kill."
If the gargoyle was just another stone lump like the statues, wouldn't it say "destroy"?
'"Kill" implies it's a living being.'
Pure speculation, but plausible. You don't "kill" inanimate objects.
'Then...'
Direction set.
Lee Sang-hyun closed his eyes, facing the statues. He focused his mind like when he'd crushed billions of eggs.
Thump...
His sharpened senses, keener than when he'd opened his eyes, spread like ripples on water.
Thump...!
The senses enveloped countless statues, vividly mapping them. Astonishingly, even the hard stone interiors held moisture.
'Forward.'
His senses, grown dramatically after bursting billions of eggs, extended rapidly.
Thump!!
The expansion was like raging waves, relentlessly multiplying the area several, dozens of times over.
Twitch!!
'...Found it!'
Something snagged. Amid the rigid statues, something distinctly alien.
Ta-at!
Lee Sang-hyun dashed toward it.
Eyes remained shut. Maintaining the sensory field, he raced through the statues.