Chapter 89
Chapter 89
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: The Divine Egg
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The shape of Raum's chamber was like a blooming lotus flower. Not a metaphor—an actual lotus flower.
Five large, leaf-shaped structures supported the circular chamber, and these leaves, in turn, floated in the air above the World Tree.
Kang-seok, who had kicked off the air repeatedly to slow his descent, suddenly felt a playful urge just before landing. He used his last step to do a somersault.
Since he was just about to hit the ground, Seong Yu-jin screamed, literally scared out of her wits. Choi Yu-ra shrieked as well, but unlike Seong Yu-jin, hers was more of a joyful scream, like one on a roller coaster.
In any case, they landed safely on the leaf.
Surprisingly weak to such things, Seong Yu-jin collapsed to the floor, panting. Choi Yu-ra, on the other hand, cackled with laughter before looking around Raum's chamber with fascination.
It was shaped like a lotus, but its color was not. Both the chamber and the leaves were silver, their color truly beautiful under the moonlight.
“I wonder if this is real silver? Think we can take a piece?”
While Choi Yu-ra made her absurd comment, Kang-seok gazed at the chamber's entrance. A translucent silver curtain, embroidered with gold thread, hung over the round, arched doorway.
Curiosity stirred within him, but he decided to hold back for now. Entering the chamber was something to be done with the other guild members, and only after confirming it was safe.
After a short wait, Kim Kang-san, Park Han-yeong, and Yang Jun-gyu descended via ropes—Hunt had taken over for one of them, as someone had to remain on the airship.
Go Min-gu grunted as he descended the rope, then suddenly jumped the rest of the way down. The entire chamber shook for a moment, startling not only Go Min-gu but all the other guild members as well.
After a brief commotion where Choi Yu-ra repeatedly smacked Go Min-gu on the back, the party stood at the entrance to Raum's chamber.
Kang-seok and the others all turned to look at Go Min-gu.
“Wh-What?”
Go Min-gu faltered, flustered by his initial mistake. Park Han-yeong asked on behalf of everyone.
“Min-gu, can't you check for traps with your spells or magic? That's usually what mages do.”
The only one in the Adamas guild who could be considered a ‘mage’ class was Go Min-gu. He blinked and replied.
“I-I can't do that.”
One of the drawbacks of being a Player.
A properly trained mage or spellcaster might have been able to check for magical traps by sensing the flow of mana, but for Go Min-gu, who used his spells like pressing skill buttons in a game, such a feat was impossible.
A flicker of disappointment crossed everyone's faces. A flustered Go Min-gu began to ramble.
“W-Wait, I'm a healer and a buffer, okay? What kind of game has a mage who detects traps? By that logic, shouldn't Han-yeong, the thief, be the one checking for traps?”
“I'm a ninja, not a thief. And there are plenty of games where mages can detect traps.”
Park Han-yeong quickly retorted as the arrow was unexpectedly turned on her. Go Min-gu pouted.
“Whatever, ninja, thief, they're all the same.”
“No, they’re not! They’re completely different!”
“Oh, come on. Does it really matter? The point is, you can't check for traps. And Min-gu is from a game where you can't, while Han-yeong is from a game where ninjas and thieves are different, right? That’s all it is. Why are we fighting over something like this?”
The last to chime in was Yang Jun-gyu. As the youngest member of the group spoke in a fed-up tone, an embarrassed Go Min-gu and Park Han-yeong fell silent.
Kang-seok gave a wry smile and asked the air.
“Iris, can you determine if there are any traps?”
[Even that is beyond my capabilities. However... I believe it is probably safe.]
“Probably?”
[Yes, probably....]
Iris answered, her voice lacking confidence. Choi Yu-ra, who had been watching the exchange, suddenly took off her shoe and threw it past the curtain. When nothing happened, she turned back to the party.
“See? Nothing happened. Let’s go.”
“No, I'll go first.”
It was Seong Yu-jin who stopped Choi Yu-ra. Activating her magical armor, Arnark, she fully equipped herself and pushed her way through the entrance before Kang-seok could stop her. Her bold action made the entire party tense up for a moment, but thankfully, nothing happened.
Kang-seok and Choi Yu-ra let out sighs of relief almost simultaneously. From beyond the curtain, Seong Yu-jin looked back at them and smiled beautifully.
* * *
‘Raum's Chamber’ was, as the name suggested, more of a large room than a house.
Inside the pillarless, circular chamber, the floor was adorned with beautiful golden patterns, and the ceiling was a spread of stained glass that shimmered in the moonlight.
And in the center of the chamber.
Bathed in moonlight pouring through a hole in the ceiling, a single wooden staff reminiscent of natural wood was stuck in the floor.
The wooden staff was the most eye-catching object, but there was much more to see.
The walls were covered with masterpieces that looked valuable at a glance, and the display cabinets lining the circular walls were filled with various jewels and charming trinkets.
It felt less like a treasure vault and more like a beautifully decorated woman's room.
‘Come to think of it, she was a woman. Oriax called her his queen, too.’
It wasn’t the time to be discerning such things in a life-or-death battle, but looking back, the Demonic Beast Raum had been a striking beauty.
Kang-seok imagined Raum decorating the room for a moment and was filled with a complex feeling.
Unlike Kang-seok, the other guild members, who were more interested in the treasure itself, were busy looking around the room.
“Wow, is this real?”
“Don't touch anything carelessly. What if there's a trap?”
“Are there any items?”
“Is this alcohol? Wine?”
Amid the chaotic chatter, Kang-seok headed to the center of the room. As he stood there, gazing at the staff, Seong Yu-jin and Choi Yu-ra soon approached him.
“That stained glass, doesn't it look like the Demonic Beasts?”
At Choi Yu-ra's words, Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin simultaneously looked up at the ceiling.
There were nine panels of stained glass on the ceiling, each depicting a different image.
Seong Yu-jin said.
“Uh... is that Andras? And the one next to it looks like Raum, doesn't it?”
The images were simplified, so they couldn't be certain, but two of the stained-glass panels did resemble Andras and Raum.
Next to them were a man holding a giant sword, a woman wearing a crown, a red humanoid monster with numerous horns, a skeleton with its hood pulled down low, a black-clad man covered in blood, a giant with the head of a bull, and a beautiful woman who looked like a saint.
Kang-seok pointed at the red monster.
“Bar...batos?”
The master of the Labyrinthos dungeon. The first Demonic Beast Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin had ever faced.
It wasn't just the horns and skin color; many aspects of its appearance overlapped. Seong Yu-jin nodded in agreement.
The Demonic Beast Raum commanded two other Demonic Beasts as her subordinates.
Barbatos had an incredibly large dungeon like Labyrinthos, and Andras had claimed the entire Sauerland mountain range as his territory.
Could it be that these nine were special among the 72 Demonic Beasts?
‘Or maybe they were just friends.’
It was a rather anticlimactic thought, but it was a possibility. After all, Raum had visited Andras's lair, even if it was just once.
Choi Yu-ra spoke again.
“I bet the most important thing in this room is this staff, right?”
The other guild members, having finished their tour of the room, had gathered around the staff.
[The energy I sense from the staff is extraordinary. I agree with Miss Choi Yu-ra; it is likely the most important object in this chamber.]
The surest way to find out was for Seong Yu-jin to hold the staff. But he couldn't let her touch it recklessly, not knowing what kind of trap might be there.
Seeing Kang-seok's hesitation, Seong Yu-jin smiled gently. She took a step forward on her own and grasped the staff before he could say a word.
It was actually a rather frightening thing to do, so Seong Yu-jin squeezed her eyes shut, and Kang-seok held his breath. Choi Yu-ra and all the others watched Seong Yu-jin with anxious faces.
Fortunately, once again, nothing happened. Relieved, Seong Yu-jin opened her eyes and stared into the air.
“Branch of the World Tree. An object filled with the essence of the World Tree. Merely being near it grants the effect of vitality recovery. An item created by the Demonic Beast Raum on the advice of the Demonic Beast Vassago, one of the ‘Ten High Demonic Beasts’— It seems to be a staff for a mage or a spellcaster. It’s loaded with options like magic power, health recovery, and mana recovery.”
At the mention of a mage item, Go Min-gu's eyes lit up.
Even in games, it was standard practice to distribute items from raids by class, and Go Min-gu was the only mage-type in the guild.
Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin, however, focused on the words ‘Ten High Demonic Beasts.’ There were nine Demonic Beasts depicted on the stained glass, which didn't quite match the title.
Choi Yu-ra asked Iris.
“Iris, is it just a good item? Are there any other functions?”
[There do not seem to be any additional quests associated with it.]
It had been confirmed several times already, but Iris was not omniscient. Choi Yu-ra sighed.
“Aww, then only Min-gu lucked out.”
“Hey, if I, the healer, get stronger, the whole guild's combat power goes up. And the treasures here are quite valuable, too.”
Go Min-gu grumbled as Choi Yu-ra muttered in disappointment.
Seong Yu-jin chuckled at the sight and carefully picked up the staff. The staff, which had been fixed to the floor, came out more easily than expected.
But it was at that very moment.
The moonlight pouring from the ceiling suddenly intensified.
A golden light began to radiate from the hole where the staff had been, and soon the two lights intertwined. A round sphere of light formed where the staff had stood.
Startled, Seong Yu-jin took a step back, fumbling with the staff. Choi Yu-ra and Go Min-gu stopped their bickering and focused on the light.
The silver light melted away. As the light faded, a golden egg was revealed.
Holiness.
An energy that could only be described as such spread out gently from the egg.
[Quest: Egg of a Divine Beast]
[The egg of a Divine Beast, protected by the Demonic Beast Raum with the essence of the World Tree. Whether to hatch it or destroy it is up to the owner.]
[* Hatching or destroying the egg will be considered a quest clear.]
Kang-seok asked quickly.
“Iris, this couldn't be Raum's egg, could it?”
Raum was a Demonic Beast with the wings of a bird. It wouldn't be strange if she laid eggs like a bird. And if that egg was Raum's, then destroying it was the right choice.
[I cannot be certain. However, I believe there is a high probability that it is not Raum's egg. Although it has been exposed to the essence of the World Tree for a long time, the energy emanating from the egg is too pure compared to that of the Demonic Beasts.]
[And in the first place, the quest is named ‘Egg of a Divine Beast’... so it is unlikely to be the egg of a Demonic Beast.]
Kang-seok swallowed dryly. Even if it wasn't Raum's egg, as Iris said, the risk was still substantial. No one knew what would hatch from that egg.
To hatch or destroy was the owner's choice.
Kang-seok made a decision. He looked at the guild members and said.
“I think the right thing to do is to take the egg. Does anyone have any objections?”
“I'm good with that.”
“I will follow the Guild Master's decision.”
The first was Choi Yu-ra, the second was Kim Kang-san. Seong Yu-jin, too, didn't have the heart to break such a beautiful egg.
After Park Han-yeong, Yang Jun-gyu, and Go Min-gu also agreed, Kang-seok carefully collected the egg. After a moment of thought, he placed it inside the leather pouch at his waist.
They had secured the Branch of the World Tree and the Egg of a Divine Beast. Now all that was left was to move the treasures to the airship.
It was then, as the guild members, their tension finally easing, looked at each other and smiled.
Suddenly, characters of light appeared in everyone's mind.
[Second World Quest]
[World Quest Discoverer: Heavenly Dragon Emperor (Male)]
In the blink of an eye, a new vision followed.