Chapter 77: The Floating Fortress, Avalon
Chapter 77
Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: The Floating Fortress, Avalon
Players — Chapter 20: Raum's Tower
Three days after Go Min-gu and Hunt joined the Adamas Guild, a visitor arrived at a small cabin located at the entrance of the Sauerland Mountains.
“It's a pleasure to see you. It's been nearly a month.”
Oboro, a subordinate of Vivian, the Witch of the Lake, bowed his head politely.
Kang-seok warmly returned the greeting of the black boar beastman. After a light handshake, he led Oboro into the cabin.
“Did you have any trouble getting here?”
“Not at all. I heard the Adamas guild house was midway up the mountain, so I'm just grateful you came all the way to the entrance to meet me.”
Only the members of the Adamas Guild knew the true identity of their guild house: Andras's Lair. Even Abigail and Curios believed the buildings on the mountainside were the real Adamas guild house.
This newly built cabin at the mountain's entrance served as Adamas's public-facing front. Though that sounded grand, it had almost no practical function, and this was the first time they had ever received a guest here.
Sitting across from Kang-seok at a small table, Oboro wasted no time getting to the point.
“As I mentioned in the letter, my reason for coming here is simple. Please, take a look at this.”
Pausing for a moment, Oboro took out a crystal ball the size of an adult's fist from his robes and placed it on the table.
Just as Kang-seok's eyes lit up at the familiar-looking magic item, Vivian's voice flowed from the crystal ball.
“Kang-seok, can you hear me?”
Looking closely, he could see a faint image of Vivian's face within it. Kang-seok quickly nodded.
“I can hear you clearly. Is this some kind of long-distance communication?”
Long-distance communication via magic wasn't that surprising in this world. In fact, Kang-seok had contacted Hunt in Roselburg through the Adventurers' Guild. The problem was the distance. The distance between Roselburg and Aachen could be covered in a day or two on horseback.
Even so, the amount of information that could be exchanged via magic was limited to a few sentences at most. Yet here was Kang-seok, having a real-time conversation with Vivian. Considering the distance between the capital and the Sauerland Mountains, it was certainly astonishing.
But it's no different from a phone call.
Kang-seok, thinking this to himself, just smiled lightly in response.
Vivian continued to speak. There were about nineteen days left until the World Quest began.
“It's almost time. You should leave for Avalon soon rather than wait until the last minute.”
Just as Vivian said, it was time to start preparing for their departure. The trip to Avalon would take less than a week by airship, but it was unwise to leave at the last minute. It was better to arrive a few days early to make preparations.
“I've heard the gist of it from Abigail. It seems they have a long-standing friendly relationship with the Britten Kingdom.”
Both Avalon and the Britten Kingdom originated from a race called the Britannians. After the massive monster outbreaks a hundred years ago, human nations had effectively put a temporary stop to wars among themselves. Thanks to this, almost all nations were on friendly terms, but the relationship between Avalon and the Britten Kingdom was particularly strong.
Vivian explained that Avalon had no intention of sending its army directly into Raum's Tower. Instead, they would keep their forces outside and observe both the tower and the Players attempting the World Quest.
“You mean they're just going to watch?” Kang-seok asked, his voice tinged with surprise.
Vivian gave an awkward smile and nodded.
When he thought about it, it made sense. There was no reason for the Duchy of Avalon to take risks and dispatch its own troops to Raum's Tower. It was a defensive move to keep both Raum's Tower and the Players in check.
“That doesn't mean they're taking the situation lightly,” Vivian added. “Athos, the Captain of the Knights Templar of the Sword God Cnut Cult, will be overseeing their response.”
This, too, was to be expected. But Kang-seok tilted his head for a moment. Athos, the Captain of the Knights Templar of the Sword God Cnut Cult. He had definitely heard that name before.
“One of the Eight Great Superhumans of the World?”
The eight true superhumans who stood at the pinnacle of this world. Vivian nodded from within the crystal ball.
“Do you know her?”
She asked because of the unusual expression on Kang-seok's face. Snapping back to his senses, Kang-seok replied.
“No, I was just a little surprised. So she... actually exists.”
The Strongest in the Human Realm, Green Meteor. She, who could be called the foremost of the Eight Great Superhumans, was a princess of the legendary ancient race of Elders who had unified the world a thousand years ago. A woman who had lived for a thousand years.
A small smile graced Vivian's face. Her voice and expression were filled with admiration. Moreover, from the way she spoke, it seemed she had met her in person.
In truth, Vivian was just as amazing and mysterious. She was an old witch who had practiced magic for over a hundred years. Yet she maintained the appearance of a woman in her early thirties.
As the conversation strayed, Oboro, who had been quietly observing, spoke in a low voice.
“The Duchy of Avalon is by no means taking this lightly. On the contrary, since it's happening in their own country, right next to their capital, they are on high alert.”
Vivian looked at Kang-seok through the crystal ball.
“And what do you think they're most wary of?”
“Players,” Kang-seok answered immediately.
A smile once again appeared on Vivian's face.
From a nation's perspective, Players were a force even harder to control than adventurers. Hundreds of Players possessed power comparable to thousands, even tens of thousands of soldiers, so one couldn't blame a nation for being wary of them.
“So it would be best not to provoke them.”
In game terms, Kang-seok was no different from a top-ranked player. The greater his power, the more attention he drew.
Vivian had shown deep trust in Kang-seok since their last meeting. This was possible because she had faced his very soul within her magical domain.
“Oboro.”
At Vivian's soft call, Oboro took a wooden box from the belongings he had brought with him. He placed it on the table and opened the lid, revealing four black, fingerless gloves lined up neatly. Curiously, all four were for the right hand.
“They're enchanted gauntlets,” Vivian explained. “Each one carries a different elemental attribute. Depending on which one you wear, that element will be added to your physical attacks.”
Upon closer inspection, the gloves were embroidered with a male lion, the symbol of the Britten Kingdom. It seemed they were originally made for the royal knights.
“Have you ever heard of equipment like this?” Vivian asked.
“No, this is the first I've heard of them.”
It was just as he'd guessed. She was likely talking about the kind of elemental effects commonly seen in games.
“Thank you very much.”
With Seong Yu-jin not by his side, he couldn't immediately identify the items, but just from the description, they sounded incredibly useful.
Vivian smiled gently.
There was another reason behind the gift, one she didn't bother to explain. Kang-seok was a Meister, a quasi-noble of the Britten Kingdom. If he were to achieve great things in this World Quest, the prestige of the Britten royal family would also rise.
Regardless of the truth, from an outsider's perspective, Kang-seok was a Player who belonged to the royalist faction. Kang-seok had suspected as much, but he had no intention of severing his ties with Vivian. Because their relationship was mutually beneficial, he could actually trust her more.
Even for the great sorceress, continuing the communication was too much. As Vivian's face faded from the crystal ball, Oboro also stood up.
“I shall take my leave as well. I wish you the best of luck, Player Choi Kang-seok.”
Kang-seok shook hands with Oboro once more. He quite liked the fact that both Vivian and Oboro called him by his real name instead of his title, 'Dark Destiny Lord', unlike others.
After seeing Oboro off, Kang-seok hurried back to the guild hideout.
A week later, the Adamas Guild's flagship, the Black Dragon, departed from the Sauerland Mountains.
***
“Alright, take a deep breath. We'll go up one note at a time. Slowly, don't feel pressured, just lightly follow along.”
On the deck of the Black Dragon, they were flying through the sky at a considerable speed, but the altitude wasn't so high that the wind was overwhelming.
Standing on the right side of the deck, Seong Yu-jin spoke in a gentle, coaxing voice. Opposite her, Go Min-gu swallowed nervously, his face tense. After a few more gulps, he seemed ready and nodded.
Seong Yu-jin, still smiling, sang the first note.
“Ah.”
Though it was just a single, short note, her voice was remarkably clear and pure.
Go Min-gu opened his mouth and followed her lead.
“Ah.”
It was rough and dull, but somehow, it was a similar note. Seong Yu-jin raised the pitch by one step.
“Ah~.”
“Gah~.”
It was an absolute mess. But Seong Yu-jin didn't give up. Not wanting to embarrass Go Min-gu, she didn't even frown as she steadfastly sang the next note.
Go Min-gu's tone-deafness correction. It wasn't just for Go Min-gu's sake. It was a necessary task to protect her own ears.
After somehow getting through the scale exercises, they began their singing practice, with Seong Yu-jin leading and Go Min-gu following.
Sitting some distance away on the deck with her chin in her hand, Choi Yu-ra watched the two of them practice with an inexplicably sullen look. Yang Jun-gyu approached her.
“Wow, Yu-jin sings really well.”
It wasn't an empty compliment; he meant it. It went beyond just having a nice voice—she was genuinely a good singer.
At Yang Jun-gyu's admiration, Choi Yu-ra rolled her eyes a few times and clicked her tongue.
“I know, right? What is it that girl can't do? Being a good singer on top of everything else is just too much, don't you think?”
“Yu... Yu-ra?”
As Yang Jun-gyu blinked, Choi Yu-ra removed the hand propping up her chin. Wiping away her petty jealousy, she returned to her usual self and asked.
“When are we going to get there? Do we still have a long way to go?”
Yang Jun-gyu and Hunt took turns piloting the airship. Since they were essentially flying around the clock, a journey that would have taken over ten days on horseback was compressed into a fraction of the time.
Strangely relieved by Choi Yu-ra's normal demeanor, Yang Jun-gyu replied.
“We're almost there. The cooldown is almost up, so we can use the booster one more time, and then... oh my god.”
Yang Jun-gyu shot up from his seat mid-sentence. His already large eyes widened even further, unable to hide his shock.
“Jun-gyu?”
“Yu-ra, l-look over there.”
Instead of explaining, Yang Jun-gyu simply raised his hand and pointed to the front left of the airship. It was a direction they hadn't been paying attention to, as they were watching Seong Yu-jin and Go Min-gu practice on the front right.
Choi Yu-ra quickly stood up and looked to the front left. Her reaction was identical to Yang Jun-gyu's.
“Yu-jin! Over there! Over there!”
As she shouted and pointed frantically, Seong Yu-jin and Go Min-gu also stopped singing and turned their heads. Seong Yu-jin covered her mouth with both hands, while Go Min-gu broke into a huge grin.
The western sky. In the direction of the setting sun.
An island could be seen soaring through the air, bathed in the shattering sunlight.
A thousand years ago, there was a race called the Britannians who unified the world alongside the ancient race of Elders.
A fortress created by God himself for them.
A legendary land that had proven God's miracle for a thousand years.
The capital of the Duchy of Avalon.
The majesty of the floating fortress, Avalon.