Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: The Earth Dragon Andras
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Sword of Light and Sigil of Light.
The third and final drake crashed to the ground. The beast was several times larger than a man, and the sound of its considerable weight hitting the earth was immense.
But no one in the expedition party, including Kim Kang-san, paid any mind to the drake's corpse. All their eyes were fixed on the green-haired man who was kicking off the air as if he were a bird.
Kim Kang-san couldn't suppress a smile. He never thought he'd feel so overwhelmed with emotion looking at a man so much younger than himself. It was like meeting a superhero from a childhood cartoon.
Regardless of Kim Kang-san's feelings, Kang-seok swallowed nervously. Defeating the drake was great, but he'd jumped too soon.
Though Kang-seok could air dash and double jump, he couldn't actually fly.
He had already kicked off the air once, leaving him with only one more chance.
Gauging the distance during his fall—a mix of terror and thrill—Kang-seok kicked off the air at the perfect moment. He fought the urge to shut his eyes, kept them fixed on the ground, and used a skill when he was about five meters up.
↓↙←+K
High-Speed Descent
Kang-seok's form vanished from the air as if he had teleported. He reappeared only after he had landed on the ground.
“Whew.”
It was an impossibly clean and quiet landing, considering he had started from over thirty meters in the air. And by coincidence, Kim Kang-san was standing right where he landed.
“Kang-seok!”
Kim Kang-san suddenly pulled Kang-seok into a tight embrace. The fierce hug—from a man in full plate armor, no less—left Kang-seok breathless, but he managed to respond calmly. He pushed the excited Kim Kang-san away and caught his breath.
“Oh, my god. I can't believe it's really you.”
Kim Kang-san looked as if he'd met a saint in the depths of hell.
Seeing his slightly overwhelming reaction, Kang-seok was certain that Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong hadn't abandoned him and Seong Yu-jin. They must have been unavoidably separated.
Kang-seok quickly put out a hand to stop Kim Kang-san from attempting another hug. He spoke quickly.
“Han-yeong is on the airship. She's exhausted but safe, so don't worry.”
Even now, the airship was slowly descending.
Beneath its large, dark shadow, Abigail and the adventurers approached Kang-seok.
This time, Kang-seok spoke first.
“Are you Abigail?”
He'd had Curios describe Abigail's appearance several times.
Looking more like a friendly next-door neighbor than a seasoned adventurer, Abigail not only nodded but also offered Kang-seok a handshake.
“That's right. I'm Abigail. And you are…?”
“Choi Kang-seok. I came with Curios.”
“Curios?”
Abigail's eyes widened in surprise. Kang-seok smiled and pointed to the airship. He could just make out Curios, his cheek pressed against a window, looking down at the ground.
The rescue party had arrived.
Not only were there over twenty combatants, but there was also an airship.
Kang-seok looked from the adventurers and Players to the monsters approaching beyond them, then spoke.
“We need to secure a landing zone for the airship. Can you fight?”
Kim Kang-san was the first to nod. Abigail, instead of answering, simply gripped his weapon. The other adventurers and Players had also regained their will to fight, thanks to the airship.
They felt as if they could accomplish anything right now.
A powerful tremor brought them all to a halt. It was already the fifth Awakening.
As the number of Awakenings increased, it wasn't just the Players and adventurers who grew anxious. Andras's minions, the monsters, also felt a sense of urgency. They charged with even greater ferocity, as if they had to deal with the expedition and rescue parties before Andras awoke.
Goblins riding giant wolves.
Ogres climbing up the slope.
Drakes flying in from beyond the sky.
The Sauerland Mountains weren't originally like this.
While the deeper regions were another story, the outskirts of the mountain range were relatively safe lands where, at worst, one might encounter a goblin.
The Awakening of Andras.
Perhaps the monsters had sensed Andras's stirring even before the Awakenings began.
‘Andras is going to wake up, one way or another.’
The first priority was to take out the goblin pack. Kang-seok and Abigail, the strongest fighters among the group on the ground, simultaneously plunged into the goblins' midst. Kim Kang-san and the other adventurers supported the two of them.
Unlike the expedition party, who were exhausted from their long holdout in the stone chamber and repeated battles, Kang-seok was brimming with stamina. He wove through the goblins with the unique mobility of a fighting game Player.
‘We leave the mountains before Andras wakes up. What to do about the awakened Andras is a problem for later.’
The Earth Dragon Andras, who destroyed Aachen two hundred years ago.
A colossal beast, forty meters in length.
Stronger than the Demonic Beast Cimeries, but weaker than the Demonic Beast Barbatos.
He couldn't estimate its strength.
Kang-seok didn't know how strong the Demonic Beast Barbatos was.
The difference in weight class between Cimeries and Andras was too great.
If this were a game, there would be plenty of Players eager to rush in for a boss first kill or what have you, but this was reality, not a game.
The best course of action was to cooperate with the city of Aachen and the other powerful figures of this world.
‘Or just take a step back!’
The black sword Durendal sliced through the last remaining wolf. Kang-seok calmed his excitement and looked up. The airship was hovering not too far above.
“Grab the ladders! We can't land completely!”
“Kang-seok! The ladder!”
Several rope ladders dropped from the airship's windows. Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra leaned out almost simultaneously, tossing a rope ladder to Kang-seok, but instead of climbing up immediately, he sent the expedition party up first. It made sense for him to go last, as he could use his double jump to leap up if necessary.
“Kang-san!”
“Oh, Yu-jin.”
Just as he had with Kang-seok, Kim Kang-san pulled Seong Yu-jin into a tight hug. It was a sudden hug, but a hug from a man in full plate mail was enough to make Seong Yu-jin's face contort in pain.
“Gasp! I'm sorry.”
“N-no, it's fine. More importantly, Han-yeong is over there.”
Seong Yu-jin took the flustered Kim Kang-san by the hand and led him to the bed where Park Han-yeong was lying. Choi Yu-ra watched them with a pleased expression before turning back toward the airship's entrance.
She saw Kang-seok's face as he was just climbing through the opening.
“Hurry…”
“Gain altitude! Quickly!”
Kang-seok shouted before Choi Yu-ra could even finish her welcome. As the airship ascended rapidly, Choi Yu-ra looked out the window and screamed.
“W-watch out!”
A massive boulder, much larger than a person, was flying straight toward the airship. It was moving at a seemingly unavoidable speed, but Yang Jun-gyu must have pulled some trick again, as they managed to narrowly dodge the boulder.
“Is everyone okay?”
He had rotated the vessel so sharply it felt like it might flip over, and most of the people inside were sent tumbling across the floor and into the walls.
“Just go, quickly!”
“A second one is coming!”
Yang Jun-gyu responded to the frantic shouts. Once again, the airship moved with dazzling agility.
Amid the chaos, Kang-seok helped Choi Yu-ra, who was sprawled on the floor, to her feet.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, just… dizzy.”
She wasn't exaggerating; she was genuinely staggering. Kang-seok supported Choi Yu-ra as she leaned against him, almost like an embrace, and looked out the window. Thanks to Yang Jun-gyu's miraculous piloting skills, they dodged the second boulder much more smoothly.
The creature throwing boulders from the ground was a monster far larger than ordinary ogres. Abigail hissed through his teeth.
“A Mountain Ogre! We're lucky it's not a Cyclops.”
“A Cyclops?”
“A giant monster that throws boulders the size of houses. No matter how strong a Mountain Ogre is, its rocks won't reach us if we just climb a little higher.”
After answering someone's question and giving instructions to Yang Jun-gyu, Abigail slumped down where he stood.
Curios and a few other adventurers went over to Abigail and started talking to him.
In any case, they were safe now. They were out of immediate danger.
Kang-seok also relaxed and sat down next to Choi Yu-ra. He could see Kim Kang-san and Seong Yu-jin sitting near Park Han-yeong's bed.
[Good work. If we just flee… no, escape like this before Andras awakens, we should be fine.]
Iris sighed in relief. Even though Iris herself would be safe no matter what happened to Kang-seok's party, her voice was filled with genuine concern.
Instead of replying, Kang-seok closed his eyes. As he felt a fresh wave of fatigue wash over him, the sixth Awakening shook the airship.
“Kuh.”
Choi Yu-ra flinched and let out a groan. It felt like Andras's Awakening was rattling her brain.
Iris spoke urgently.
[Do not worry. There are still five Awakenings left. Considering the airship's speed, that is more than enough time.]
A total of eleven Awakenings.
Iris said it was enough time, but he couldn't help feeling anxious. Choi Yu-ra pressed her temples and shouted toward the cockpit.
“Jun-gyu! Can't you use the booster one more time?”
“No can do! It's once a day!”
[Our current speed is sufficient. Please do not be so impatient.]
Iris chided Choi Yu-ra.
Kang-seok swallowed nervously. He thought back on the Awakenings he had experienced on the way here.
‘Are the intervals getting shorter?’
Ruuuuuumble!
The seventh Awakening struck the airship. And this time, it wasn't just the Awakening.
“Drakes! Archers! Archers, now!”
Glass existed in this world, but the windows of a galleon-shaped airship weren't fitted with it. Therefore, you had to open a window to look outside.
Amidst the fast winds of the upper atmosphere, Curios urgently gestured to Choi Yu-ra.
Choi Yu-ra frowned.
“Tch, I'm low on ammo. Hunt! Doesn't this ship have a heavy crossbow?”
“Mounting weapons on a non-military airship is illegal!”
Hunt, who had somehow found the time to fully equip a parachute pack, answered from by a window. It seemed he was ready to jump at a moment's notice.
Choi Yu-ra suppressed her disdain and asked again.
“The one we rode before had them!”
“And that's why it was illegal!”
“Ugh.”
She only had three rounds left for her anti-materiel sniper rifle. She wouldn't regret using them to survive, but she couldn't help but hesitate to use them so readily.
After a glance at Kang-seok's face, Choi Yu-ra made up her mind. She reached into the air, summoned her anti-materiel rifle, and turned toward the window.
But just as she was about to take a step.
K-kang!
Thud! Thud!
A violent impact shook the airship. This time, the angle of the shaking was different. The impact came from above.
“Drakes! The drakes are dropping rocks on the airship!”
There were only three drakes. But the problem was where those three had attacked.
Unlike the Richmond Merchant Guild's medium-sized airship the Connell family had boarded before, the Keeman Merchant Guild's airship that Hunt had brought wasn't exactly a galleon type.
It was a sort of economy model, with wings and propellers like a small airship to save on levitation stones.
The drakes' rocks had damaged those very wings and propellers.
The drakes, more intelligent than they looked, pulled away from the airship without hesitation once it started to wobble and lose its balance.
Yang Jun-gyu, clutching the controls, let out a whine for the first time.
“I can't maintain altitude! We have to land!”
Kwagagagagagang-!
[The Awakening of Andras is in progress.]
[* Awakenings Remaining: 3]
His mouth felt bone dry. Kang-seok struggled to regain his composure.
Three Awakenings remaining.
There was still time.
Even if Andras did awaken, it would be difficult for it to attack the party right away.
The Sauerland Mountains were by no means small. Depending on their location, it might not be an immediate threat even after waking up.
Forty meters in length.
It was certainly big. Huge, even. But compared to the entire Sauerland Mountain range, it was small.
The thought gave him strength. Having calmed down, Kang-seok shouted to Yang Jun-gyu.
“Aim for the main road! Get us as far away as possible!”
“We're doing a belly landing! Everyone, hold on tight!”
The airship's flight was now closer to a fall.
Choi Yu-ra grabbed Kang-seok's waist. Seong Yu-jin, who had come up beside them, grabbed Choi Yu-ra with one arm and drew Almas. She plunged it into the airship's wall to use as an anchor.
Kang-seok did the same. He reached out to grab Seong Yu-jin with one arm, then stabbed Durendal into the floor.
Kwagagagagagagag-!
The airship's hull scraped against the ground. The ninth Awakening, mixed with the deafening roar, shook the inside of the airship.
It was a few moments later that the airship came to a complete stop.