Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Dragon's Hoard
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The corridor just past the first gate was perfectly sized to match it. It felt less like the lair of a monster forty meters long and more like walking through a medieval castle.
Looking around the corridor, which was wide enough for about four people to walk abreast, Choi Yu-ra muttered softly.
“Was that Andras fellow capable of something like polymorphing?”
“Polymorph? You mean shapeshifting?”
Seong Yu-jin asked, as if she had never heard the term. Choi Yu-ra looked a little taken aback that Seong Yu-jin had to ask, then explained with a slightly sheepish expression.
“You know, when a dragon or something transforms into a person. It happens a lot in games and comics. Aren’t there characters like that in *Exa Online*? Like NPCs or something.”
“Uh… hmm. Come to think of it, there was an NPC who was a dragon but looked human.”
Unlike Choi Yu-ra, a self-proclaimed hardcore player, Seong Yu-jin had barely played any other games. Considering she also rarely read comics or novels, it was a wonder she had delved so deeply into *Exa Online* alone.
Kang-seok, who had also been surveying the corridor, added his thoughts.
“It’s his home. He wouldn’t have just stayed coiled up in the main hall. It’s safe to assume he could polymorph.”
In truth, something other than the size of the corridor was bothering Kang-seok. It was the small, human-sized skeletons scattered here and there.
“Alberto, what are those bones?”
At Kang-seok’s question, Alberto, who was a couple of steps ahead, turned around smoothly. He answered immediately, as if he had been expecting the question.
“They belong to goblins. They were the ones who managed the nest, but I suspect they starved to death while my master was asleep. The nest was sealed from both inside and out. I, too, was in a state of hibernation until my master awoke.”
Alberto’s voice was utterly serene, which made it all the more horrifying.
“The working conditions are seriously awful.”
Choi Yu-ra muttered under her breath, her face scrunching up. Though she said it like a joke, she seemed genuinely angry at how Andras had treated them.
Seong Yu-jin looked at the goblin skeletons with a sorrowful expression, while Yang Jun-gyu, who must have imagined starving to death, turned pale and shivered.
And Kang-seok thought.
‘Horrifying, yes, but… does this mean goblins existed two hundred years ago?’
He had been told that monsters only began to appear in this world in earnest about a hundred years ago.
But there were goblins here two hundred years ago.
Was the information he’d heard incorrect, or was the definition of ‘monster’ different from what he thought?
‘Either way, I can’t be sure for now.’
Shaking off the thought, Kang-seok followed Alberto and started walking again.
* * *
The corridor leading to the treasury was a single, straight path. It was quite long, taking nearly five minutes to walk. At first, Choi Yu-ra and Yang Jun-gyu looked around with curious eyes, but as the same scenery continued, they seemed to lose interest.
When they finally reached a large stone door at the end of the corridor, Alberto turned to face the group again.
“This is the treasury. Please open the door, Master.”
From the way he spoke, it seemed that even Alberto, the nest’s ‘butler,’ was not allowed to enter the treasury.
Kang-seok clutched the key to Andras’s nest and approached the door. Just as with the entrance, the stone door opened on its own as he drew near.
The first thing they felt was a cold air, like that from a freezer. The next was a sense of vastness.
A space with a ceiling high enough and an area wide enough to comfortably accommodate Andras’s true form appeared before them. And it wasn’t just the vastness that caught everyone’s eye.
“Whoaaaaa!”
Choi Yu-ra expressed her joy without reservation. Seong Yu-jin’s eyes widened as well, and even Kang-seok couldn’t suppress a smile.
Gold, silver, and jewels.
It was a literal mountain of treasure.
Not only gold and silver, but all sorts of gems and ornaments were piled high, forming a small mountain.
Kang-seok took a deep breath.
He tried to calm his excitement, but it was a futile effort.
It was a mountain of treasure.
A mountain of treasure lay before his very eyes.
It reached the ceiling in height and filled his entire field of vision in width.
He couldn’t even begin to guess how much that amount would be worth in Korean won.
Kang-seok gave up trying to calculate. Unable to hold back any longer, Choi Yu-ra leaped into the pile of gold coins.
“Ow! But it feels great!”
Buried in gold coins, Choi Yu-ra thrashed about, squealing with delight. Seong Yu-jin hesitated for a moment before diving in as well, and Yang Jun-gyu couldn’t resist either.
Just watching the three of them acting like children brought a smile to Kang-seok’s face. With what could only be described as a dad smile, he watched Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra for a moment before looking up into the air. He asked the impassive Alberto, who was standing nearby.
“Alberto, is there any equipment? Like swords or armor.”
The treasure was nice, but what would be immediately useful were various items. After seeing the massive pile of gold coins, his expectations for the items had naturally soared.
“The equipment collected by the former master is over here.”
Alberto pointed toward a door leading to another room. Before calling Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra over, Kang-seok asked Alberto another question.
“How were these collected?”
“There is only one master of the Sauerland Mountains. Most of the equipment belonged to humans who dared to venture into the mountains. They were collected by the citizens who reside in the mountain range. There are quite a few new items that the citizens brought in right after you awoke.”
It was similar to the gold coins held by Aden, the Gnoll King.
The realization that they were essentially the belongings of the dead made him feel a little uneasy, but only for a moment.
Having composed himself, Kang-seok called out to Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra.
“Alright, stop playing and come over here. He says there’s equipment in this room.”
Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra, who had been flailing in the gold, quickly got up and came over to Kang-seok.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt this good on our entire journey,” Choi Yu-ra said.
Seong Yu-jin just smiled.
Kang-seok opened the second door.
Unlike the first room, this one had a lower ceiling, a room made for people, not monsters. Various items were neatly arranged on shelves, making it feel like they had walked into a weapon shop.
Choi Yu-ra’s eyes sparkled.
“It’s a department store, isn’t it?”
Although everything was covered in a thick layer of dust, it was a minor flaw. Kang-seok gently tapped Seong Yu-jin’s shoulder.
“I’m counting on you, Yu-jin.”
“Leave it to me.”
Clenching her fist, Seong Yu-jin even swallowed hard once. She started appraising the items one by one, beginning from the left shelf.
Kang-seok, Choi Yu-ra, and Yang Jun-gyu also examined the items, but without an ‘Appraisal’ ability like Seong Yu-jin’s, they could only judge by appearance.
Kang-seok paid more attention to armor and various accessories rather than weapons.
The reason was simple. With Durendal and Laevateinn, he already had all the weaponry he needed.
Both swords were among the ‘highest tier’ in this world. Wishing for a better weapon would be pure luxury.
‘I can’t tell what’s good just by looking.’
He examined several items like gauntlets and helmets, but he couldn’t get a feel for what was good and what wasn’t.
Feeling a bit frustrated, Kang-seok glanced over at Seong Yu-jin. She was examining the items with an unprecedentedly serious expression when her eyes suddenly lit up.
“This one! This would be perfect!”
Not only did her voice rise, but she even jumped up and down on the spot before hurrying over to Kang-seok. Curiosity piqued, Choi Yu-ra and Yang Jun-gyu followed her and gathered around him.
“What is it? Boots?”
Instead of answering Choi Yu-ra’s question, Seong Yu-jin held up the item in her hand.
They were a pair of black boots that looked almost identical to Kang-seok’s studded combat boots.
Seong Yu-jin looked into the air and spoke.
“Skywalker Boots. Creates a magical force field on the sole. The field can be created up to three times consecutively. Once accustomed to leaping off the fields, it is said to be like walking on the sky, hence the name Skywalker Boots.”
After finishing the description, Seong Yu-jin handed the Skywalker Boots to Kang-seok.
“They’re magic boots. Their defense is pretty high, but aside from everything else, the special effect seems like a perfect match for you, Kang-seok.”
Kang-seok turned the Skywalker Boots over to look at the soles. He had expected to see a complex magic circle drawn on them, but their appearance was no different from ordinary boots.
‘Once accustomed, it’s like walking on the sky…’
Just as Seong Yu-jin said, it was an item with great synergy for him. The thought of adding the Skywalker Boots to his double jump and air dash made Kang-seok’s heart pound with excitement.
“Will they fit?”
“They’re magic boots, aren’t they? They should adjust, right?”
Choi Yu-ra urged Kang-seok to try them on. With a slightly cautious movement, Kang-seok changed his shoes.
“So, how do I create the force fields?”
“Uh, the description said it should work as you think? Precise control requires shifting your body’s balance or… well, it seems like you need to get used to it anyway.”
Seong Yu-jin explained, her tone a little uncertain.
Kang-seok looked down at the boots dubiously a few times before returning to the first room. In front of everyone, he did some light stretches and then kicked off the ground.
First, a normal jump.
Upon reaching the peak of about three meters, Kang-seok kicked the air. So far, it was his usual double jump.
And then, at the second peak.
About six meters in the air, a translucent green force field formed under Kang-seok’s feet. He quickly kicked off it. The moment his foot touched it, the field shattered like glass, but by then, Kang-seok had already launched himself into another jump. His body shot straight up.
“Whoa! Whoaaa!”
Yang Jun-gyu, who was watching, gasped in admiration.
At the third peak, Kang-seok did a somersault and began to fall. Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra watched him with slightly fearful eyes, while the oblivious Yang Jun-gyu just kept cheering excitedly.
Creating consecutive force fields during his descent.
He thought he could just step on them like stairs to come down, but it wasn’t as easy as he imagined.
After some struggle, Kang-seok finally managed to land on the floor and sat down, looking exhausted. Seong Yu-jin quickly came over and said.
“After creating three in a row, it takes some time to regenerate, so you’ll have to control it well.”
After trying them himself, it was clear that being called a ‘sky walker’ was a bit of an exaggeration.
The force fields shattered almost the instant he stepped on them, and he could only create three in a row, so even with practice, it would only add about ‘three more steps.’
But this was Kang-seok, who could already engage in aerial combat with just ‘one step.’ Even if this was less complete than his first ‘one step,’ the addition of ‘three steps’ was nothing short of revolutionary.
After the brief commotion, the group returned to the second room. Choi Yu-ra looked at Seong Yu-jin and asked.
“Yu-jin, is there anything I can use?”
In truth, Choi Yu-ra had the most lacking equipment in the group.
While Kang-seok had Durendal and Laevateinn, and Seong Yu-jin had the Arnak armor and Almas, Choi Yu-ra had no significant magical gear to speak of. Of course, her anti-materiel sniper rifle was practically magical in its own right, but its limited ammunition was a persistent drawback.
After glancing over the shelves, Seong Yu-jin picked up an item.
“Hmm, I think this would be the best.”
The item Seong Yu-jin presented was a small crossbow that could be worn on the wrist. It seemed the limbs could be folded to make it even more compact when not in use.
“This isn’t a magical item, but you know, a hidden trump card?”
Seong Yu-jin strapped the crossbow to her own wrist. As she turned her wrist and raised her arm, the folded limbs sprang out, and it instantly took the shape of a crossbow.
“So it’s like one of those things you see in spy movies, huh?”
Seong Yu-jin nodded and handed the crossbow bracelet to Choi Yu-ra.
“Mhmm, it’s light and feels good.”
Mimicking what Seong Yu-jin had done, Choi Yu-ra folded and unfolded the limbs a few times, a satisfied smile on her face.
Since it was a very small crossbow, its power was weak, and it could only be loaded with one bolt at a time, but it was perfect as a ‘hidden trump card.’ The low power could also be compensated for by using things like poison bolts.
“That, and this.”
“Am I completely switching classes from Gunner to Archer? Is that what this is?”
What Seong Yu-jin handed her next was a rather large, red longbow.
“Bow of Landrus. A bow made and used by the renowned master archer, Landrus. It contains the power of wind, allowing arrows to fly farther and stronger.”
Excluding the Skywalker Boots that Kang-seok had taken, there was no item in the treasury with a stronger magical force than this.
Choi Yu-ra mimed drawing the bowstring a few times, then tilted her head slightly.
“Hmm. It’s a bit different from shooting a crossbow. I’ll need some practice.”
“You’ll get used to it quickly.”
This wasn’t just empty encouragement. Choi Yu-ra already had a track record of using a longbow provided by the Aachen regular army to snipe drakes during the battle against Andras.
“But what about you, Yu-jin?”
At Choi Yu-ra’s question, Seong Yu-jin blinked a few times, then gave an awkward smile.
“Uh… I don’t think there’s anything here that I can really use.”
Her armor and shield were the Arnak set.
Her weapon was Almas, the sister sword of Laevateinn.
In fact, Seong Yu-jin was the most well-equipped member of the group.
“Noona, noona. Look at this, too. What about this one?”
Yang Jun-gyu, who had been quietly waiting for his chance, held out a splendid-looking sword to Seong Yu-jin.
Since Kang-seok already had Durendal and Laevateinn, Seong Yu-jin had subconsciously neglected to look at the swords. She carefully took the sword and looked into the air.
“Dwarven Sword. A sword forged by dwarves.”
“And?”
Already excited by the word ‘dwarf,’ Yang Jun-gyu pressed her. Seong Yu-jin hesitated for a moment before answering with an apologetic look.
“Uh… that’s all. Its attack power and durability seem good. It seems like a good sword.”
It was definitely a good sword. Among the ‘normal swords’ Seong Yu-jin had encountered since leaving the Labyrinthos dungeon, it was arguably the best.
But for Seong Yu-jin, who wielded the top-tier magic sword Almas, her expression couldn’t help but be lukewarm.
Regardless of Seong Yu-jin’s expression, Yang Jun-gyu’s jaw dropped, and he began to send an utterly desperate gaze toward Kang-seok.
Kang-seok nodded.
“Keep it.”
“Hehe, thanks, hyung.”
After Yang Jun-gyu had claimed a sword, they searched the treasury once more, but they couldn’t find any better equipment.
The group decided to explore the other facilities for now and left the treasury.
But just as they were about to close the stone door of the treasury, Kang-seok suddenly glanced back inside and asked in a low voice to the empty air.
“Iris, could this dungeon be modified or renovated?”
[Modified or renovated?]
“Literally. Adding new facilities… it would be a major construction project, of course.”
Kang-seok had heard about Jeong Yu-seong from Kim Kang-san.
A Player who dug through the earth with a giant drill.
There could be other Players with similar abilities. No, perhaps there were even Players who specialized in creating such facilities.
[Aside from the concealed entrance, there is no significant magic imbued in the dungeon, so it should be possible. Why do you ask?]
“A guild hideout.”
The guild system supported by System Yggdrasil.
Separate from that, Kang-seok was thinking of creating a ‘home base.’
He had only explored a part of the Britton Kingdom so far. He might have to travel all over the world to clear the seven World Quests.
But even so.
People needed a home. A space where they could let their guard down, a safe place where they could rest comfortably.
“Kang-seok!”
“Hurry up!”
Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra, who were already some distance ahead, waved and called out to Kang-seok, who was still standing in front of the stone door.
Closing the door, Kang-seok waved back.
“Anyway, shall we go? There’s still a lot to see. We need to find clues for the World Quest, too.”
They had only explored one treasury, after all.
As if gesturing to Iris, Kang-seok reached a hand out into the air and strode forward with purpose.