Chapter 114
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 114
Chapter Title: The Sea Emperor Vepar's Dungeon
Five days had already passed since the conclusion of the second World Quest.
The Sea Emperor Vepar's dungeon, once home to thousands of monsters, was by no means small, but it had its limits. With four hundred Players fervently scouring it, the dungeon's internal structure was completely revealed in just a few days.
The dungeon had a total of five floors.
Each floor was vast, spanning several kilometers, but unlike the labyrinthine R labyrintos, its structure was remarkably simple.
“As we first expected, it seems not many ready-to-use items were found. If there were secret rooms, we might have had some hope, but as you can see from the map, the structure is so simple that everyone seems to have given up early on.”
On the deck of the Black Dragon.
Park Han-yeong continued her explanation, pointing at a map of the dungeon purchased from other Players.
“The most common find is an ore called Seastone. It's supposedly lighter and stronger than ordinary steel, making it good for crafting various weapons. The next most valuable things seem to be seaweed and marine plants that can be used as ingredients for various potions.”
“Doesn't exactly sound like a jackpot, does it?”
Both seemed far from a life-changing fortune. Park Han-yeong shrugged at Choi Yu-ra’s remark.
“That may be, but… that Seastone seems to be quite valuable. There are production-class Players who are starting to craft high-grade weapons, so the value of material items can't be ignored.”
Production-class Players had many disadvantages in terms of survival and growth compared to combat-class Players, but even among them, some had reached a considerable level of skill. There were even Players from games like ‘Beast Hunter’ who combined production and combat.
Weapons crafted by high-level production Players were, in most cases, superior to the common weapons available on the market.
Having played various games, Choi Yu-ra immediately understood what Park Han-yeong meant.
Kang-seok raised his hand slightly and asked.
“Aren't there people who entered the Demonic Beasts' rooms before us? Like Christian.”
There were five Demonic Beasts, and naturally, five MVPs.
The Heavenly Dragon Emperor, MVP for Demonic Beast Allocen.
Christian, MVP for Demonic Beast Murmur.
Salome, MVP for Demonic Beast Decarabia.
Next Vasara, MVP for Demonic Beast Caim.
Lee Tae-haeng, MVP for Demonic Beast Orobas.
“It's still unknown what Christian and Next Vasara obtained from the Demonic Beasts' rooms. As you know, Christian is still exploring the dungeon, and Next Vasara left Sicily right after exploring their room. Salome hasn't entered her room yet. And as for Lee Tae-haeng, almost nothing is known.”
In truth, it was normal for such things to remain unknown.
The MVP title was awarded for playing a significant role, but to other Players, it was more an object of envy than respect.
*We risked our lives just the same, so why didn't I get the MVP bonus? Why don't I get an additional reward?*
The MVP system was strictly performance-based, so in principle, there was no issue. But in this world, there are many things the head can understand but the heart cannot.
Choi Yu-ra shrugged again.
“Well, we'll find out when we go in, won't we?”
The Adamas Guild had acquired two keys to the Demonic Beasts' rooms. As such, they were the focus of other Players' attention.
“So it’s a teleportation-type this time…”
Muttering softly, Kang-seok looked down at the keys he held, one in each hand.
Unlike the cases of Demonic Beast Andras or Demonic Beast Raum, where they had to physically go and open the door, this time, simply possessing the key inside the dungeon allowed them to move to the Demonic Beast’s room. It was a kind of teleportation item.
Kim Kang-san, Park Han-yeong, Yang Jun-gyu, Sekhmet, and Oh Ha-na were to remain on the Black Dragon. Yang Jun-gyu, whose eyes had sparkled at the mention of dungeon exploration to the point of losing sleep, had to stay behind. To prepare for any unforeseen emergencies, the pilot, Yang Jun-gyu, needed to remain on the airship.
Kang-seok forced himself to look away from Yang Jun-gyu, whose eyes were dripping with disappointment—he looked like a puppy left home alone while the rest of the family went on an outing—and let out a light cough. He watched Seong Yu-jin, who stood wearing only a pure white bikini instead of her red coat and magic armor, Arnark, and a pleased smile crept onto his face.
“I’m counting on you, Yu-jin.”
“That look in your eyes is no good.”
Her tone was chiding, but her face was smiling.
The bikini swimsuit, an item Seong Yu-jin had from the beginning, wasn’t just a revealing piece of clothing. It was a magic item that not only allowed the wearer to breathe underwater but also to move freely.
The Sea Emperor Vepar's dungeon was underwater, and naturally, one had to dive to enter it. However, in the Adamas Guild, there were a surprising number of people who could dive but couldn't open their eyes underwater.
Kang-seok and Go Min-gu were two of them, and Choi Yu-ra took it a step further, claiming she had never once swum in her life.
So the plan they came up with was to form a human chain.
It was a simple plan: Seong Yu-jin, who could move freely in the water, would hold Kang-seok’s hand, who would then hold Choi Yu-ra’s, who in turn would hold Go Min-gu’s. They would submerge and follow Seong Yu-jin’s lead into the dungeon.
As Kang-seok and Go Min-gu gazed at Seong Yu-jin with pleased expressions, Choi Yu-ra puffed out her cheeks and grumbled, but there was nothing to be done. Her khaki tank top and hot pants were certainly attractive—and practically her daily attire—but they lacked the power to compete with Seong Yu-jin in a bikini.
“Which room will you enter first?”
Park Han-yeong asked, as if to wrap things up. Kang-seok glanced at the keys once more before raising the one in his right hand.
“It makes sense to start with the mid-boss's room rather than the final boss's, right?”
A golden key.
It was the key to the room of Allocen, the Warrior Prince.
***
How much time had passed since they dived into the sea? When Kang-seok next opened his eyes, he was met with the sight of a large stone door.
“You can open your eyes now. You can breathe, too.”
Choi Yu-ra, who had been grunting with her eyes squeezed shut, finally exhaled the breath she had been holding at Seong Yu-jin’s words. Go Min-gu, who had already opened his eyes and was looking around, spoke in a slightly surprised voice.
“Seven doors? Does having a key bring everyone to this room?”
A circular floor and seven doors. On each stone door, the names of the Demonic Beasts were written in the language of this world.
After a moment of thought, Kang-seok approached the stone door inscribed with the name of Demonic Beast Murmur. The door had no handle, so there seemed to be no way to open it, but upon inspection, its surface was covered in scratches.
‘Did someone try to force it open?’
It was likely the work of Lee Tae-haeng or Next Vasara. Judging by the state of the door, their attempt seemed to have failed.
Instead of lingering, Kang-seok walked directly to Allocen’s door. Just as it had in Demonic Beast Andras’s lair, the stone door opened with a heavy groan.
Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra glanced at each other, while Go Min-gu rubbed his large hands together and licked his lips.
With a chuckle, Kang-seok drew Durandal. On guard for any potential threats, he stepped into the room.
Demonic Beast Allocen was a giant, six meters in height, but surprisingly, the ceiling wasn't very high. Perhaps, like Andras, Allocen could also take human form.
Standing in place, Go Min-gu surveyed the large, circular room and defined it with a single word.
“An armory. An armory.”
Every wall was covered with weapons. Swords, axes, hammers, spears—it was no exaggeration to say that almost every cold weapon in existence was collected here.
“The Warrior Prince, indeed.”
Letting out a slightly incredulous laugh, Choi Yu-ra quickly grabbed Seong Yu-jin’s arm. Since an item's performance couldn't be determined by its appearance alone, Seong Yu-jin's item appraisal ability was needed.
Having dived into the sea, she looked like a drowned rat, but seeing her dash about so energetically, there seemed to be no need to worry about her catching a cold.
“Then shall I have a look around, too?”
Go Min-gu, also from an MMORPG, could appraise items as well. He strode toward the wall opposite where Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra were headed.
While everyone was engrossed in appraising items, Kang-seok’s attention was elsewhere.
Truthfully, Kang-seok wasn't particularly interested in ‘weapons.’ The Durandal he already used was so familiar to his hand, and its performance was outstanding.
One of the top ten of the Thirty-Seven Star Swords.
The divine sword Durandal, personally forged by the White God, known as the king of gods.
Since he already possessed a masterwork sword that ranked among the top ten in this world, it was natural that he wasn't drawn to other weapons, even if more was better. Frankly, Durandal was such an incredible sword that he doubted Allocen would have one that was better.
Kang-seok observed the room itself, not the weapons. The stained glass on the ceiling, much like in Raum’s room, depicted what appeared to be Demonic Beasts.
‘The seven Demonic Beasts?’
The Sea Emperor Vepar and her six subordinate Demonic Beasts.
Demonic Beast Crocell, which had effectively annihilated the Shangri-La fleet, was never found.
Where had Demonic Beast Crocell gone? Had it left Sicily? Or was it still hiding near the island, watching the Players?
Either way, it was an unsettling thought.
As he scanned the room for things other than weapons, something besides the stained glass caught his eye.
It was a silver liquid flowing along grooves in the circular floor.
At first, he thought it was simply part of the interior design, but his mind soon changed. He sat and watched it for a while, then summoned a bit of courage and touched the silver liquid.
It was cold and smooth. It felt like metal, despite being a liquid.
‘Allocen’s armor.’
The silver armor that had suddenly appeared and enveloped Allocen’s entire body during their battle.
Could this liquid be the material that armor was made of?
A smile touched Kang-seok’s lips. He simultaneously recalled Park Han-yeong’s repeated emphasis on material items and the face of Antonio Choi, who would be waiting at the guild hideout.
What could be done with this liquid metal? What kind of things could be created?
Could they make armor that changes shape, like Seong Yu-jin’s magic armor, Arnark? Or perhaps a weapon that could freely change its form.
Once he started imagining, all sorts of ideas flooded his mind.
While everyone else was preoccupied with examining the weapons, Kang-seok stood up alone and looked around the room.
The amount of liquid metal flowing through the grooves was by no means small. By a rough estimate, there was enough to make at least ten sets of armor.
A cheerful smile once again spread across Kang-seok’s face.
***
“So in the end, besides that liquid metal called Aether, we didn't really get much, huh?”
About two hours later.
After several trips back and forth between the Black Dragon and the Demonic Beast’s room, they finally managed to transport all of the liquid metal, ‘Aether’—a name revealed by Seong Yu-jin’s appraisal. It had been no small effort, as they had to scoop the liquid flowing in the grooves into containers one by one.
As a drained Choi Yu-ra grumbled, Go Min-gu clicked his tongue.
“What do you mean, we didn't get much? Didn't you see how happy that Jun-gyu fellow was with his new sword? And we can sell what we don't use to other Players. Looks like we're going to make a fortune.”
Among Kang-seok’s group, the only ones who would use melee weapons were Kang-seok, Seong Yu-jin, Kim Kang-san, and Park Han-yeong.
Yang Jun-gyu, though he had taken a weapon, rarely participated in direct combat, not to mention the non-combat members like Oh Ha-na, Antonio Choi, and Hunt.
Eighty percent of the weapons found in Allocen’s room were just ordinary—albeit high-performance—weapons, and the remaining twenty percent were magic weapons. However, the members of the Adamas Guild already possessed good weapons, though perhaps not on Kang-seok’s level, so there wasn't much to covet.
It seemed they could each take one or two as spares and sell the rest without any issue.
Like Kang-seok, all the Adamas Guild members had high hopes for the liquid metal, Aether.
Seong Yu-jin, Go Min-gu, and Kim Kang-san had each appraised it, and while the specific details varied slightly, all three agreed that it was, at the very least, a ‘magic metal.’
It was clear that an incredible item could be created if they entrusted it to a renowned production-class Player, not just Antonio Choi.
The grumbling Choi Yu-ra soon broke into a grin again. It might have been counting her chickens before they hatched, but just imagining what they could create was enough to lift her spirits. And knowing the ever-eccentric Antonio Choi, he might just create something that surpassed all their imaginations.
“Everyone, you haven't forgotten we still have one room left, have you?”
Kang-seok spoke, and Choi Yu-ra and Go Min-gu rose to their feet. Seong Yu-jin had already taken her place right beside Kang-seok.
Kang-seok took out the blue key. He faced the stone door of the Sea Emperor Vepar.