Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Guild Hideout
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The Adamas Guild's flagship, the Black Dragon, departed the Avalon Duchy and headed for the Kingdom of Britannia.
It wasn't that there were no Players he wanted to meet and talk to, such as Park Hyeong-sik's party who fought alongside them in Raum's Tower, or Christian whose performance had been exceptional, but it would have been awkward to turn back toward the tower's vicinity.
Perhaps because they didn't stop in any towns before leaving the Avalon Duchy's airspace, or because, contrary to expectations, the duchy was passive about summoning the Players who had cleared the World Quest, they received no noteworthy outside contact.
The Black Dragon, which had been flying at high speed, finally docked in a populated area upon arriving at Roselburg, one of the major cities in the Kingdom of Britannia.
The Roselburg branch of the Keyman Merchant Guild.
When the Black Dragon docked there, at a building now twice its previous size, it drew the attention of the people.
This was because the news had already spread among the Players remaining in Roselburg that the first World Quest had been cleared, and that Kang-seok's party had played a major role—after all, they had claimed the MVP and a majority of the VP spots.
Roxley, the executive of the Keyman Merchant Guild in charge of the Roselburg branch, made time for a meeting with Kang-seok despite his busy schedule.
“Congratulations. I heard your exploits in Avalon were quite remarkable.”
Word travels fast. Though he didn't know the specific details of their deeds, Roxley was already aware of the general story.
Kang-seok, who had left the rest of his party on the airship and visited Roxley's office accompanied only by Hunt, smiled wryly.
“It was just good luck. We also received a lot of help from the other Players.”
This wasn't just a polite platitude; it was, to some extent, sincere.
It was thanks to everyone's combined strength that they were able to defeat Oriax and then Raum. The conquest of Raum's Tower had not been a battle fought by Kang-seok and the Adamas Guild alone.
“I am quite curious about the adventures you've had... but it seems both you and I are rather short on time. Please, speak freely.”
Perhaps because most Players were young, they didn't particularly enjoy beating around the bush with vague talk.
There had to be a good reason for Kang-seok to have specifically stopped in Roselburg.
Although Roxley and Kang-seok were acquainted, stopping for supplies with Aachen just around the corner was not a sufficient reason.
Kang-seok liked this straightforwardness about Roxley. As expected, he answered honestly.
“I've come to see you, Mr. Roxley, to make a deal.”
The treasures obtained from Raum's room.
Assets with high liquidity, like jewels and gold coins, could be piled up in Andras's Lair to be used as needed, but various paintings, sculptures, and ornaments were a different matter.
Since no one in the Adamas Guild had a particular hobby of decorating their rooms with such ornaments, it was best to convert them into liquid assets sooner rather than later.
Since Hunt, who had decided to remain in Roselburg, would handle the specific details of the transaction, Kang-seok moved on to the next topic.
“And there are a few things I'm curious about.”
“Are you referring to the time and place of the second World Quest?”
Roxley's question was as if he had read Kang-seok's mind.
There were Players in Roselburg, too. Though they were the type who, like the Hunt of the past, avoided adventuring and were content with living day to day, they were still Players and had received clues about the second World Quest.
Kang-seok didn't hide his pleasure.
“Yes, have you looked into it?”
“Not everything, but I believe I can answer a few of your questions.”
Conversations with Roxley always moved quickly.
When curiosity flickered in Kang-seok's eyes, Roxley spoke without delay.
“The location of the second World Quest appears to be the 'Olympus Sea,' located in northern Shangri-la. Among the possible locations there, Sicily Island, not far from the continent, is considered the most likely. For one, the coastline the Players saw matches the shape of the Olympus Sea's coastline. Sicily Island has also long been famous for its crescent shape.”
Just as with the first World Quest, it wasn't too difficult for the people of this world to guess the location of the second one.
Hunt, who had been listening quietly, spoke softly.
“If it's northern Shangri-la, you mean it's to the southwest of here.”
“Yes, that's correct. It's even farther west than the Avalon Duchy. However, considering Sicily Island's location, it would be closer to due west than southwest.”
Roxley didn't just explain; he pulled over a decorative globe from the table to show Kang-seok and Hunt.
“It's almost twice as far as the Avalon Duchy.”
“Yes, so it's likely that Players from the Shangri-la region will participate in greater numbers this time.”
Having said that, Roxley put the globe back and moistened his throat with a sip of tea.
“However, as for the timing, I'm not certain. I heard many tales of the Legendary King in my childhood... but scholars are divided on the exact date of his death. Regarding the timing, it would be best to consult with Lady Vivian, the Witch of the Lake.”
Receiving the title of 'Meister' meant that he had formed a close relationship with the royal family of Britannia. And that, in turn, signified a close relationship with the Witch of the Lake, Vivian, the guardian deity of Britannia's royal family.
Since Kang-seok had never mentioned Vivian to Roxley, he simply smiled. Roxley, observing Kang-seok's reaction, also changed the subject instead of pressing further.
“As for the Divine Artifacts of the Four Great Gods, I've identified one of the two... but the other will likely be difficult to pinpoint.”
“Are there many Divine Artifacts of the Four Great Gods?”
Kang-seok asked, somewhat surprised. Roxley nodded.
“Yes. Broadly speaking, even the holy relics held by the Knights Templar are all Divine Artifacts. If you were to list all the Divine Artifacts of the Four Great Gods, there would be dozens.”
Come to think of it, the Durandal Kang-seok possessed was also a Divine Artifact of the Four Great Gods. It was a divine sword imbued with the power of the 'White God,' the king of the gods and one of the Four Great Gods.
The Divine Artifacts related to the second World Quest were a hammer and a bracelet.
Roxley continued.
“The hammer is likely 'Thundersound,' a Divine Artifact of the 'Red God.' Legend has it that 'Little Tree,' a blacksmith of the ancient Elder race and a high priest of the Red God, received 'Thundersound' and used it to forge the world's first metal sword.”
The legend itself was the kind of story common to any mythology. Kang-seok asked about something else.
“Is its location known?”
“Yes, 'Thundersound' is kept deep within the Red God's Grand Temple in Shangri-la. It can be called the most important of the Red God's Divine Artifacts. Even now, once a year, the high priest of the Red God performs a ritual to forge a sword with Thundersound. The swords created this way emit a powerful divine energy, and so they are traded at truly staggering prices. However, they rarely appear on the market, as they are almost exclusively consumed within the Red God's Knights Templar.”
It was good news and bad news at the same time.
It was good that its location was certain, but if it was a treasure so cherished by the Grand Temple, it would be difficult to procure for the World Quest.
“Regarding the Yellow God's Divine Artifact, opinions are divided. Most of the Yellow God's Divine Artifacts take the form of accessories like necklaces, bracelets, or earrings, so there are already over ten bracelet-type Divine Artifacts alone.”
Kang-seok touched the Hero's Locket Necklace through his clothes. It, too, was one of the Yellow God's Divine Artifacts.
“Visiting a temple of the Yellow God might be the quickest solution. While the Grand Temples of the Four Great Gods are all in Shangri-la, there is a temple dedicated to the Yellow God here in the Kingdom of Britannia.”
“I understand. Thank you for the various pieces of information and advice.”
Kang-seok had already decided to visit a Grand Temple of the Yellow God because of the Hero's Necklace anyway. If anything, this new development only strengthened his reason for visiting.
After a brief chat with Roxley, Kang-seok immediately left the Roselburg branch and boarded the Black Dragon.
As originally planned, Hunt decided to remain in Roselburg, and he shared a regretful farewell with the party.
The Black Dragon departed Roselburg before the sun had set.
* * *
“Are we finally home? It's been a long, long time.”
Leaning against the deck railing, Choi Yu-ra spoke in a weary voice. In the distance, the sun was setting over the western side of the Sauerland Mountains.
Home.
At the word 'home,' Kang-seok, who was standing next to Choi Yu-ra and watching the sunset, looked up at the sky with a somewhat bitter expression.
It had already been over three months since Kang-seok was summoned to this world.
The Great Summoning had begun nearly five months ago.
At first, he'd had no time to think of home. The truth was, he'd been too busy trying to survive to afford the luxury of looking back.
But now, the time had come when people would start thinking of their hometowns.
Home.
For Kang-seok himself, 'home' had been two places: the small studio apartment next to his university and his parents' house.
Now, the guild hideout in the Sauerland Mountains had been added to that list. The members of the Adamas Guild were the family of this new home.
As his thoughts reached that point, Kang-seok muttered in a low voice.
“Then I wonder who the mom and dad would be.”
“Huh?”
At his careless remark, Choi Yu-ra blinked. Her face looked quite flustered. Kang-seok waved his hand as if it were nothing.
“No, it's nothing. You just said 'home,' and it popped into my head.”
“Oh.”
Whether it was her mood or the sunset, Choi Yu-ra's face was red. Kang-seok straightened his posture and looked directly at her.
“What?”
Again, Choi Yu-ra's question was slightly awkward. Kang-seok tilted his head to the side.
“By the way, back in Raum's Tower. The reason Oriax called me 'prince'... Yu-ra?”
“Khak! Cough! Cough! Keuk!”
Choi Yu-ra, coughing so violently she looked like she was about to pass out, waved her hand even in her distress.
Perhaps because she was having trouble breathing, her face, neck, and even her ears were flushed bright red.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, keuk, yeah. I think something went down the wrong pipe. I'm going to get some rest.”
Answering quickly, Choi Yu-ra scurried away from the deck. Kim Kang-san, who had been watching, quickly turned away, trying to hide his smile, while Park Han-yeong's eyes darted around, wondering if Seong Yu-jin, who had said she was resting in her cabin, had come up.
* * *
The sunset faded into twilight. A violet hue colored the Sauerland mountain range, and darkness soon crept in to fill the sky.
Because of this, Kang-seok's party didn't immediately notice that something was wrong. Only after landing at the docking station did they let out groans filled with bewilderment.
The Adamas Guild had been away from their guild house for about a fortnight.
During that not-so-short period, Antonio Choi had guarded the guild house alone.
They thought there would be no problems. After all, the monsters near the fake guild house had already been cleared out several times.
But it wasn't enough. The Sauerland Mountains were still teeming with too many monsters.
The docking station was a mess. More than half of it was destroyed, and traces of monsters were everywhere. Moreover, the docking station wasn't the only thing that had been destroyed.
The dummy guild house had collapsed.
Choi Yu-ra screamed.
“Gobong!”
She rushed to the collapsed dummy house and began frantically clearing the debris. Kang-seok, Seong Yu-jin, and the other guild members quickly joined in to help her.
The secret passage in the basement of the dummy house that led to the real guild house.
If that passage was also destroyed, the situation would be serious.
“Please, please.”
Choi Yu-ra was on the verge of tears. Urgency could be felt in the hands of Seong Yu-jin and Yang Jun-gyu as they cleared the rubble.
They had been too complacent. Leaving Antonio Choi, who had weak combat abilities, all by himself had been a very risky choice.
Finally, they cleared all the debris blocking the secret passage. Choi Yu-ra collapsed to the floor.
The entrance to the secret passage was destroyed.
“Wait, hold on.”
Kang-seok quickly moved his hands a few more times. After clearing the debris that blocked the broken entrance, an unexpected sight was revealed.
“It's blocked?”
The entrance was completely sealed. It wasn't blocked by debris; it seemed to have been intentionally and properly sealed, to the point where the floor was perfectly flat.
This wasn't the work of monsters. Then, could Antonio Choi have sealed the entrance? If so, why?
Suddenly, Kang-seok snapped his head up. With a thudding sound, something huge was approaching.
A large, inverted-triangle torso, long arms, and relatively short legs.
A gorilla-like stone golem was approaching the party, dragging the corpse of a monster in one hand.
Kang-seok stopped the others as they reflexively reached for their weapons. Choi Yu-ra blinked.
“NOGADA No. 7?”
The phrase was engraved on the stone golem's chest.
The party was too stunned to say anything more.
NOGADA No. 7, with the indifferent movements characteristic of a machine, tossed the monster corpse it was holding far away and turned to the side. It began to walk slowly toward the front of the docking station.
“I think it wants us to follow.”
Seong Yu-jin, the quickest on the uptake in the Adamas Guild, said. With Choi Yu-ra in the lead, the party began to follow the stone golem, when Yang Jun-gyu muttered quietly.
“But why No. 7?”
At the random question, Kang-seok and Seong Yu-jin looked at each other.
No. 7.
Did that mean there were at least six more stone golems like that one?
The stone golem—NOGADA No. 7—came to a halt. It spun around to face the party, pointed to the large open area in front of the docking station, and gave a magnificent bow.
It was just bare ground. A place they had simply leveled to build the docking station.
But not anymore.
Rumble...!
With a magnificent roar, the ground split open. A crack nearly twenty meters long appeared with a sharp sound, and the ground sank slightly. It then slid to the side, revealing a massive hole.
And then another sound followed.
A series of mechanical whirs echoed, and then another floor began to rise from inside the hole.
It looked like a giant elevator for robots or fighter jets, the kind often seen in secret bases in sci-fi comics or movies. Bright lights installed on the floor, like searchlights, pushed back the darkness.
NOGADA No. 7 was the first to step onto the elevator. On the steel platform stood two more stone golems, nearly identical to NOGADA No. 7, with 'NOGADA No. 4' and 'NOGADA No. 5' engraved on their chests, respectively.
When faced with such a baffling situation, people tend to laugh senselessly.
They were a party that had seen a tower sprout from the ground and a world tree stretching over a hundred meters tall, but even they couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh at the sight of this needlessly large secret base entrance.
This wasn't just any place; it was the Adamas Guild's guild house. Their home.
Swallowing hard, Kang-seok was the first to take a step forward.
* * *
“Just, you know... did a bit of hard labor.”