Chapter 26
Chapter 26
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: The Road Ahead
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Bracelet of Protection. Reduces the accuracy of external ranged attacks by 15%.”
In terms of items, the lich was far more generous than the abomination.
Seong Yu-jin appraised the three black bracelets, which had gold inlaid in their engravings, one after another and smiled softly.
“All three have the same effect.”
It was a relief that the lich had exactly three of them.
Kang-seok took the bracelets from Seong Yu-jin and then held out the lich's cloak, which he'd managed to strip off.
“What about this?”
“Just a moment.”
The lich had been large, so its cloak was large as well.
Seong Yu-jin took the roughly crumpled cloak from Kang-seok, gave it a great shake in the air, and then skillfully tidied it up.
“High-quality cloak. It's durable and feels nice.”
“And?”
“Uh… that's it. I guess it wasn't… a high-level lich?”
Seong Yu-jin tilted her head, speaking with a slight lack of confidence.
The lore varied from game to game, but liches were usually high-level monsters.
After all, they were almost always based on the premise of being ‘powerful mages.’
But the lich Kang-seok's party had faced was a little different.
Perhaps because it was focused on the ritual to create the abomination, it had died anticlimactically without using a single notable spell.
“The ‘typical liches’ we know might be different from the liches in this world.”
The liches Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin knew were merely the versions popularized in subculture.
And perhaps it was just a difference between individual liches.
Seong Yu-jin agreed with Kang-seok, giving a slight nod to let go of her lingering thoughts.
She sniffed the cloak once more before speaking.
“It's a bit gross, but it would be good to use as a blanket while we travel.”
It had a bit of a musty smell, but that could probably be solved by washing it well and drying it in the sun.
The fabric itself was very soft and felt good.
It was also so large that it was more than enough for two people to lie on and cover themselves with.
Kang-seok couldn't help but laugh at how casually Seong Yu-jin talked about taking and using a cloak worn by an undead monster.
“What?”
Seong Yu-jin tilted her head and asked, her face showing she had no idea why Kang-seok was laughing.
Kang-seok looked away for a moment before glancing back down at the lich.
“Hey, just in case, should we take some of the lich's bones?”
The lich's bones.
They might be useful later if they met a Player with crafting-related skills.
At Kang-seok's suggestion, Seong Yu-jin grimaced as if she'd heard something bizarre, but she soon nodded.
“Just a little.”
“Just a little.”
Repeating her words, Kang-seok placed a few of the lich's finger bones into the container holding the black mana stone fragments.
* * *
After collecting the items, the party headed for the village. If they hurried, they would be able to arrive before sunset.
“Wow, this is nice. Getting injured is pretty great sometimes.”
Choi Yu-ra, riding on Kang-seok's back, rested her chin on his shoulder and made a carefree comment.
Decorum be damned, Kang-seok readjusted Choi Yu-ra on his back and spoke.
“I'll be blunt. You're heavy.”
“Am I heavy? My gear is heavy. Besides, doesn't it feel nice against your back?”
Choi Yu-ra chuckled, pressing her upper body closer and wiggling slightly.
Unlike Seong Yu-jin, Choi Yu-ra wasn't wearing any real armor, so the sensation against his back was quite different.
‘Does she have no shame?’
The thought was so absurd that Kang-seok let out a hollow laugh.
Seong Yu-jin, who had been staring at Kang-seok and Choi Yu-ra's banter from the side, quickly interjected.
“Look over there, the villagers are out.”
At her complex and subtle tone—urgent, yet somehow stiff like she was reading from a textbook—Choi Yu-ra burst out laughing.
Kang-seok did his best to ignore her and looked in the direction Seong Yu-jin was pointing.
Just as she’d said, a few villagers were standing at the entrance to the village. They spotted Kang-seok's party and waved their hands happily.
“Well, there was that commotion.”
The light released when the abomination fell was truly incredible. It must have been clearly visible even from the distant village.
“Let's hurry.”
Seong Yu-jin said to Kang-seok, and he nodded, picking up his pace slightly.
The villagers were overjoyed when they heard what Kang-seok's party had experienced at the cemetery.
It was a natural reaction, considering more than ten people had died because of the undead over the past month.
Kang-seok dissuaded the villagers, who wanted to throw a feast right away, and hurried to the hut. Forget a feast; all he wanted was to rest.
The sun set, and night fell.
After having dinner with the various dishes the villagers had brought, Kang-seok shifted his gaze from the table to the door.
Just as he expected, the door opened and Seong Yu-jin appeared.
“Phew.”
Having just finished bathing, Seong Yu-jin shivered, her face flushed. The temperature difference between the hot water and the night air was stark.
Quickly closing the door and entering the hut, Seong Yu-jin asked Kang-seok.
“How's Yu-ra?”
“As you can see, she's sleeping soundly. She must be exhausted from everything.”
In the corner Kang-seok pointed to, Choi Yu-ra was fast asleep on a pile of straw. She was so tired she didn't stir at all.
Seong Yu-jin dried her hair a few more times with a dry towel and sat down next to Kang-seok. Looking at the papers spread on the table, she asked.
“What were you doing? Thinking about our next destination?”
She'd only sat down next to him, but a sweet scent of her skin wafted over. Kang-seok, who had unknowingly swallowed dryly, pointed at the map and spoke.
“We need to find a new source of Kron.”
The undead would no longer spawn in the cemetery. It was also impossible to return to the Labyrinthos, so there was no reason to stay in the village any longer.
Of course, they had accumulated quite a lot of Kron.
The 4,000 Kron he’d just earned from the MVP bonus for this quest alone would allow him to survive for another 40 days.
But he couldn't afford to be complacent. Kang-seok explained to Seong Yu-jin.
“I couldn't get a world map, but I drew this based on what I heard from the villagers. This is roughly what the world looks like.”
Seong Yu-jin giggled at the continent drawn on the map.
“It looks like a bitten apple.”
“A big bite, though.”
To the west was an island large enough to be called a continent, and to the southeast of that island was a continent shaped, as Seong Yu-jin put it, like an apple with a large bite taken out of it.
It also looked like what was left after a large chunk had been torn from a round landmass.
Kang-seok pointed to the northern part of the continent.
“Anyway, it seems orcs live in this northern region.”
Seong Yu-jin blinked and looked back at Kang-seok.
“Orcs? You don't mean *those* orcs?”
“The very orcs you're imagining right now.”
Kang-seok echoed, then pulled out another piece of paper. It was a drawing of an orc by the village chief's son, who was quite a good artist.
“There are many types of orcs, but the ones who have formed something of a nation in the north… you know the orcs from ‘Blood 2’?”
“Yeah, yeah, the ones with good physiques and green skin, who are almost like humans. There were similar ones in Exa Online, too.”
“Right, that kind of feel. But it seems there are also orcs that are just complete monsters. It seems to be more than just a difference in tribes.”
“That's fascinating.”
Her mouth slightly agape, Seong Yu-jin turned the drawing over and over.
Other than their slightly pointed ears and the tusks protruding from their lips, they looked similar to humans.
Kang-seok then pointed to the central part of the map.
“We're here in the center, and Shangri-la, the continent's most powerful nation that we heard about before, is here in the southwest.”
Although he couldn't expect an accurate scale from a roughly drawn map, it wasn't difficult to tell the general locations.
Shifting his gaze from the map back to Seong Yu-jin's face, Kang-seok changed the subject.
“Monsters started appearing in earnest about a hundred years ago, and it seems they're growing stronger by the day. They don't seem to form a unified nation, but conversely, that seems to make them difficult to wipe out in one fell swoop.”
“So it's a world like an online RPG? With monsters appearing between towns and cities.”
“Based on what I've heard, that's the gist of it.”
The village seemed surprisingly developed, what with its concept of hygiene and all, but that was about it. There was a limit to the information he could get from the village chief's son.
Seong Yu-jin rested her chin on her hand and let out a soft groan.
“Hmm, should we look for mages?”
It wasn't just a matter of considering a source of Kron anymore.
Why had they come to this world?
What was The Great Summoning?
Was seeing the ‘ending’ really the only way to return?
They needed to talk to the intellectuals of this world. Moreover, this was a world where magic actually existed.
Kang-seok nodded at Seong Yu-jin's very reasonable words.
“We should meet mages, but for now, I'm thinking about the temple.”
“You mean priests?”
“Yeah. As it happens, an unusual number of monsters have apparently been appearing near a temple not too far from here.”
It was a place where they could both secure Kron and gather information. But Seong Yu-jin pursed her lips, looking worried.
“What if they're fanatics? Or if it's like… a medieval cathedral.”
“They say it's polytheistic, so that's probably less likely, but… well, we'll see when we get there.”
Worrying in advance wouldn't solve anything. And they might even have a better experience than they expected.
“It's a temple that serves the God of Honor. If we go there, there's a high chance we'll meet other Players, and the priests might know something about The Great Summoning. If we're lucky, we might even reunite with Kang-san and Han-yeong.”
For Seong Yu-jin, the last part was more appealing than anything else.
Though it had only been a few days, she felt a natural affection for the two people with whom she had shared life-and-death struggles.
“When we all gather, we could even make a guild,” Seong Yu-jin muttered to herself. Kang-seok chuckled.
“Not bad. If we can just find someone from a game with crafting classes, like Beast Hunter, we'd have a pretty balanced team, wouldn't we?”
It was just like when they first met in the Labyrinthos. Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin tried not to dwell on the bad things and focused on the enjoyable possibilities as much as they could.
‘But it really is a pretty good setup.’
He had replied without thinking, but the balance really was quite good.
Kim Kang-san and Seong Yu-jin, warriors who can tank.
Himself, Kang-seok, who could handle surprise attacks, swift offense, and the main damage dealer role.
Park Han-yeong, who can be the party's eyes with her stealth-based scouting and map-making skills.
Choi Yu-ra, a ranged damage dealer who can attack from the rear.
If they just had a healer and a crafter, it really felt like they could form a perfectly balanced guild.
“Kang-seok?”
“Huh? Oh.”
Seong Yu-jin's face was close. Kang-seok met her gaze, feigning composure. Seong Yu-jin hesitated for a moment, her lips parting as if in thought, then spoke.