Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Tome of Andras
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Darkness deepened, and the night grew old.
The clouds had swallowed the moon, and the stars, having lost its light, could no longer brighten the darkness.
But even in that darkness, there was a light; the deeper the night, the thicker the darkness, the brighter it shone—.
“Is that so? Is that the name of your soul—Dark Destiny Lord—.”
Her captivating voice could not be described by the simple word ‘tragic’.
It held sorrow and grief, a sincere admiration for the opponent she faced as an enemy.
The voice and words were so enchanting one could easily be drawn in, yet there was one person who felt deep anger instead of a fluttering heart.
“Cut it out.”
But Choi Yu-ra, deep in her performance, showed no change in expression. She suddenly clutched her chest, her right hand trembling. Curling her fingers into a claw, she let out a soul-wrenching cry.
“Weep! O, Dragon of Black Flames!”
“Hey! I said cut it… What? You, what did you just say?”
Kang-seok stopped mid-rant and suddenly blinked. Choi Yu-ra, who had been preparing to scream and run away, was also flustered by his unexpected reaction.
“Hm? What was it?”
“Th-that.”
Unable to bring himself to say it out loud again, he mumbled vaguely.
A mischievous grin appeared on Choi Yu-ra's face. She could have let it go, but her eyes turned into those of a hawk spotting its prey, and she tilted her head.
“‘That’? Yu-ra has no idea what you’re talking about.”
She was being foxy, and the fact that it was somehow cute made him even more furious. Kang-seok gritted his teeth so hard they audibly ground together, then threw his hands up and spoke as if tossing the words away.
“Agh! Black Flame Dragon! That! How did you know my finishing line!”
Choi Yu-ra had definitely been far away at that time!
“Finishing line?”
“You want me to get really angry?”
Choi Yu-ra knew when to stop teasing. She glanced at Kang-seok, then quickly moved to hide behind Seong Yu-jin, who was sitting right next to her, and spoke rapidly.
“Our dear Yu-jin told me~”
Seong Yu-jin had certainly been closer than Choi Yu-ra at the time.
But to think she’d heard it. And to think she’d then told Choi Yu-ra.
Kang-seok turned to Seong Yu-jin with the eyes of a man utterly betrayed.
Attempting a first-level evasion by shifting her eyes, Seong Yu-jin didn't try to be slyly cute like Choi Yu-ra, but instead scratched her cheek and laughed foolishly.
“Hehehe.”
Bright and cute.
Their methods were different, but they were both little devils.
Kang-seok couldn't take it anymore. Like a boxer hit with a knockout punch, he slumped over, entering a groggy state.
Seeing him like that, Choi Yu-ra gently licked her lower lip, then emerged from behind Seong Yu-jin and raised her voice once more.
“Ahh, what a thrill. To think he said, ‘Weep! O, Dragon of Black Flames!’”
“Aaargh!”
He couldn't stand it any longer. He didn't care that she was a woman, or that they were in a cramped carriage; he didn't want to think about it anymore.
Kang-seok leaped like a leopard and pounced, leaving Choi Yu-ra no way to escape. In the cramped carriage, she fell flat on her back, ending up mounted.
“Kyaa! Hey!”
Suddenly pinned under Kang-seok, Choi Yu-ra let out a reflexive scream. Kang-seok, who had pounced in a fit of rage, was brought back to his senses by her feminine scream. The soft sensation beneath his lower body also played a part.
Using only his leg strength, Kang-seok quickly jumped off Choi Yu-ra.
“Ah, sorry.”
“No, well… it might be okay.”
Mumbling very quietly, Choi Yu-ra got up and sat next to Seong Yu-jin again. For some reason, she seemed several times more docile than before.
As the two who had been making a racket in the carriage fell silent with awkward faces, a natural quiet descended. Seong Yu-jin also just shifted her eyes, not opening her mouth for some reason.
Then, the fourth person sitting in the driver's seat spoke up.
“Still, you were really cool yesterday, hyung. Everyone was chanting your name.”
The true middle-school Player, Yang Jun-gyu.
The game he came from, 'Grand Melee Rider', also made him the owner of the covered carriage the party was currently riding in.
Grand Melee Rider was a boisterous game, just as its name suggested.
As a racing game, the goal was to reach the finish line before your opponents, but the problem was that there were no restrictions on how you did it.
As long as you could finish first, anything was fair game.
Therefore, the system itself supported all sorts of fouls, making it a chaotic mess, yet it was a strangely marvelous game that still adhered to all the proper conventions of a racing game.
Sincerity was evident in Yang Jun-gyu's voice as he admired Kang-seok. And for that very reason, Kang-seok grew even more somber.
“That’s not my name.”
It's not the name of my soul or anything. My name is Choi Kang-seok.
Whether he heard Kang-seok's inner voice or sensed the faint killing intent within his gloom, Yang Jun-gyu didn't press the issue further. He just pouted a few times and muttered quietly.
“It was really cool, though.”
The night right after defeating the Demonic Beast Andras.
There was a very simple reason why Kang-seok's party was traveling at night as if they were fleeing in the dark.
The item Kang-seok had obtained as an MVP bonus.
The Demonic Beast Andras, unlike Cimeries, hadn't left behind any notable equipment. Therefore, all the Players who participated in the quest, with the sole exception of Kang-seok, had to be content with just receiving Kron and titles.
What Kang-seok had obtained.
There had been no need to search Andras's corpse. The moment the blue light faded, the object was already in Kang-seok's hand.
It was a silver key, recognizable at a glance.
It was the size of a large teaspoon, much bigger than a normal key, and felt quite heavy, making it seem plausible as a key for a large warehouse or a castle gate.
Everyone was exhausted from the battle with Andras, and that night had a festive atmosphere, so it wasn't until around noon the next day that Kang-seok discussed the key with everyone.
[The Demonic Beast Andras's nest is protected by a barrier. It seems this key is for passing through that barrier.]
It wasn't just Iris. Seong Yu-jin also appraised it and came to a similar conclusion.
“Key of Andras. An item required to enter Andras's nest, located in the Sauerland Mountains. Grants the holder the authority of the nest's master.”
Andras's nest.
No one knew what was inside.
However, Choi Yu-ra insisted that as a 'dragon's lair,' it would be filled with gold and treasure, and Kang-seok agreed with her.
If you grabbed any passerby and asked, nine out of ten would say the same thing as Choi Yu-ra.
And that was precisely why Kang-seok's party was moving in secret.
“How many people do you think will try to get a piece of the pie?”
That's what Choi Yu-ra had said.
The best thing would have been to go look for it quietly later, but they didn't have that kind of time.
'Time' always pressed down on the Players.
Obtaining powerful items and becoming stronger was the same as increasing one's chances of survival.
Therefore, Kang-seok's party came to two conclusions.
First, the three of them, who could trust each other no matter what, would check Andras's nest.
Second, they would later share the wealth with those who would join them in the future, like Kim Kang-san and Park Han-yeong.
Thanks to Yang Jun-gyu, the awkwardness in the carriage had dissipated quite a bit, and Choi Yu-ra started giggling again.
“Hehet, a dragon's lair, huh?”
It seemed she felt good just imagining it. Yang Jun-gyu, who had been quietly watching, chimed in.
“Yura, thank you so, so much for inviting me.”
“Jun-gyu, let me tell you in advance, we're not splitting this four ways. You're just our driver. A paid driver.”
“Hmph.”
When Choi Yu-ra stated it so bluntly, Yang Jun-gyu made a whining sound. But Choi Yu-ra wasn't one to fall for a middle school kid's clumsy attempt at being cute.
“You should be trying to charm our leader, Kang-seok, not me.”
The reason for bringing Yang Jun-gyu along on this job was simple.
It was to utilize Yang Jun-gyu's skills, which were only effective on 'vehicles', to get to and from the Sauerland Mountains as quickly as possible.
“Well, anyway, this alone is great. Everyone else basically just got Kron. I really wanted to visit a dragon's lair at least once.”
Yang Jun-gyu grinned and shrugged.
In truth, Yang Jun-gyu was happy just to be with the 'Dark Destiny Lord's' party.
‘He's cool and strong, and he hangs out with two super pretty older girls!’
Wasn't he the complete package?
Apart from Yang Jun-gyu's thoughts, Seong Yu-jin spoke in a worried tone.
“I hope the lair has a lot of liquid assets… Airships must be expensive, right?”
The Keyman Company airship that Hunt had piloted.
A recovery team had been sent after Andras's defeat, but since the airship was already practically half-destroyed when it landed, it didn't seem like much could be salvaged.
But Kang-seok replied gently.
“Ms. Abigail said she'd help, and it seems this world has insurance too. Don't worry too much.”
The price of the airship Hunt had told him was staggeringly expensive, but they wouldn't have to pay for all of it.
Choi Yu-ra scooted close to Kang-seok and grumbled.
“To be fair, why should we be the ones to foot the whole bill? It's not a matter of getting help; Ms. Abigail and the expedition team should just pay for it. Right?”
“Well, you're not entirely wrong.”
If they really found a mountain of gold and treasure in Andras's nest, he might willingly cover part of the cost, but he had no intention of taking the full blame.
He didn't plan to completely ignore it, given his relationship with the Keyman Company, but he intended to hold Abigail and the city of Aachen responsible as well.
Seong Yu-jin also moved closer to Kang-seok and said.
“Everyone must be surprised that we've disappeared, right?”
“They might think we ran away in the middle of the night out of embarrassment.”
Choi Yu-ra chimed in with a suggestive tone.
Kang-seok clamped his mouth shut, and Seong Yu-jin shot Choi Yu-ra a look that said ‘that's enough’.
And how much further did they go?
Yang Jun-gyu, slowing the carriage slightly, looked back inside and said.
“From here on out, we're in the territory of that nest from last time… The monsters, will we be okay?”
It was only two days ago that the party had fled for their lives from these very Sauerland Mountains. So it was only natural to be worried, visiting those same mountains with just the four of them, and at night no less.
Iris's voice was heard.
[You have the Key of Andras, so it will be fine. Monsters outside Andras's sphere of influence or those that have escaped it might be a problem, but such monsters will be few and far between.]
[Monsters within its sphere of influence are highly likely to avoid you on their own.]
It was a reassuring statement, but instead of nodding, Choi Yu-ra narrowed her eyes. She spoke to the empty air in a slightly cynical tone.
“You say that, but some weird thing isn't just going to pop out of nowhere again, right? You're surprisingly inaccurate when it comes to this stuff, you know?”
At her clearly chiding tone, Iris didn't answer right away. After making a sound like smacking her lips for a while, she finally continued.
[It can't be helped because of information restrictions.]
[You all know I'm not doing it on purpose, right?]
“Stop trying to be cute. You know your way of speaking has been weirdly inconsistent lately, right?”
“We know. We also know that you're genuinely worried about us.”
The prickly one was Choi Yu-ra, and the heartwarming one was Seong Yu-jin.
Yang Jun-gyu in the driver's seat looked back again.
“Girls? Who are you talking to?”
Only Kang-seok, Seong Yu-jin, and Choi Yu-ra could hear Iris's voice.
Choi Yu-ra waved her hand dismissively.
“It's something. A woman's secret, so don't ask.”
Yang Jun-gyu scrunched up his face, but Choi Yu-ra didn't even glance at him.
When even Seong Yu-jin just gave him an apologetic look without answering, Yang Jun-gyu gave up early and focused on driving again.
Then, as if she had been waiting, Iris spoke.
[The clue for the World Quest is highly likely to be inside Andras's nest. The treasure is important, but it would be best to pay attention to that as well.]
Kang-seok responded with a nod and looked out over the driver's seat at the sprawling Sauerland Mountains.
Andras's nest was not far.