Chapter 21 - Desolate Ruins (2)
Desolate Ruins (2)
21.Desolate Ruins (2)
[Desolate Ruins]
-Recommended Level: 16~20
-Entry Limit: 5 people
-Explore the ruins. 4 hours 59 minutes.
The reason Ruin Gates are popular is, of course, because there's a high probability of finding high-grade items.
Some say that 'Ruins' always have good items.
Those who haven't found them simply haven't looked hard enough. I hoped that would be the case for me.
As long as I have my spatial sense, the option of not finding anything is practically nonexistent.
As soon as we entered the Gate, we found ourselves on a hill with a blue field stretching out before us.
"Nice view."
"Indeed."
And below, on the field, were faded, ochre-colored ruins. A bit bigger than a small village.
You could call it the remains of a small town. In the center, there was also a huge building that looked like a temple.
Whether it was made of mud or stone, the color was uneven due to the passage of time, and moss and vegetation clung to it.
The scenery itself was beautiful, but the old buildings were broken in places, making the name 'Desolate' fitting.
"That's..."
"Gnoll."
There were also Monsters wandering around the ruins. Gnoll. A humanoid Monster that looked like a mix of hyena and human.
They are considered slightly stronger Monsters than Orcs. Because they are intelligent, agile, and fight differently.
Orcs fight like strong humans, while Gnoll fight like beasts while still being human.
They use weapons but also scratch with their feet and hands, and bite faces with their huge muzzles.
'They're faster than Orcs, making them harder to dodge.'
You need to be around level 15 to fight an Awakened Orc one-on-one, but you need to be around level 20 to fight an Awakened Gnoll, and that's why.
They also tend to move in packs. Uncle Cheolgi narrowed his eyes and surveyed the ruins.
"Are they occupying the ruins and living there? There are more than I thought."
"There are about 20 visible, so if you include those inside the buildings, there could be up to 30-40?"
Still, there's no need to worry. I ate an Elixir and invested in Stats in preparation for this Gate, didn't I?
Even if my level is 16, my Stats are high enough to be considered in the late 20s.
"Shall we come up with a strategy?"
After entering a Gate, it was natural to strategize if a situation didn't immediately arise.
We even identified what the enemies were from a safe location, didn't we? Uncle suggested an idea.
"It might be good to lure them out and then take them out with Flying Dragon Pierce and Wind Split."
Gnoll are animals with a keen sense of smell. They'll smell us from a distance, so he meant to lure them out.
"Well, they're smart, so it'll be hard to catch them all at once, but if we reduce their numbers, it'll be easier to explore."
A very textbook approach.
"Or we could just brute force our way through."
Uncle's eyes widened at my words.
"With our Stats, I think it's possible. If it gets dangerous, we can just use Flying Dragon Pierce."
"You just want to use Fighting Cock, don't you?"
He saw right through me.
"Honestly, I want to try out Fighting Cock."
"Well, let's do that. I used Flying Dragon Pierce a lot last time."
Uncle readily agreed.
"Then let's go with brute force."
We grinned and headed towards the ruins. We took a few steps into the ruins when it happened.
Before the Gnoll could even enter my spatial sense, I heard a Gnoll's cry.
I knew it. When one of them smells something, it lets out a 'warning cry.' Then the surrounding Gnoll start searching together.
And when prey is found, they let out a 'hunting cry.'
"Get ready."
Similar cries spread out two or three more times. They must be communicating with each other. Then I heard rustling sounds from somewhere.
And one Gnoll entered my spatial sense. Front, 11 o'clock. I made eye contact with the Gnoll.
-Awooooo!
Then the 'hunting cry' erupted. It was smart enough not to rush at me right away. It was waiting for its comrades to arrive.
Of course, I didn't just stand there. I kept walking and swung my Elegant Sword. The Gnoll tilted its head.
"Keng?"
It seemed to be wondering why I swung my sword, not even feeling the blade of wind.
The Orcs and Goblins I saw last time didn't even think it was strange. A Monster with intelligence was definitely different.
"Keck!"
But that didn't mean it could avoid the blade of wind.
Swish- The Gnoll's body split in half.
-Awoo!
Two seconds later, another cry erupted. I didn't know what this one was. Was it reacting to the smell of blood from its comrade?
Three, four... I could feel the number of Monsters entering my spatial sense increasing rapidly.
-Krrr!
The stench was getting stronger, probably because they were beasts, and Yong-yong growled softly, as if he didn't like it.
After walking about ten steps, the Gnoll had surrounded us.
"Hmm."
In a standoff, Uncle looked around.
"No Awakened beings?"
"Yeah. That's a little strange."
I couldn't tell if they were hiding or if there were no Awakened beings in this Gate.
Anyway, there were many of them, but considering our Stats, it was a fight we could win easily.
"If it gets dangerous, break through with Flying Dragon Pierce. I'll take care of it."
"Okay."
My Stats themselves were much higher than Uncle's. Uncle was better at AoE skills, but I was better at combat.
And in case of emergency, there was also the Subspace as a stronghold.
"Well..."
First strike wins.
I was about to swing my sword to unleash Wind Split when it happened.
"Krrrrraaaaa!"
Suddenly, Uncle Cheolgi let out a roar. It was a roar that felt familiar. No, it wasn't just familiar, I had experienced it before.
It was like the Dragon's roar from the Gate where I had Awakened. Of course, the aftermath was a little different...
Anyway, even I was momentarily frozen, but the Gnoll around us were even worse.
Ssshhh-.
I heard a sound like water leaking from somewhere, and the crotches of the Gnoll surrounding us became soaked.
The Gnoll surrounding us had all peed their pants at once.
As the stench worsened, Uncle and I couldn't even think about fighting and just stared at each other.
"W-what was that just now?"
"I didn't do it."
Uncle seemed just as surprised as I was. Uncle was looking at Yong-yong.
"Did Yong-yong do it?"
"Yeah."
He had been showing his displeasure since the Gnoll surrounded us. In an instant, I guessed what had happened.
"Isn't it because of Dragon Unison? You said you leveled up last time."
"Dragon Unison?"
"It's when the Dragon and Uncle become one, so Uncle ended up doing Yong-yong's actions."
"That makes sense..."
Uncle, who had been nodding silently, suddenly stopped and looked at Yong-yong.
His expression was more ferocious than before because of the smell of urine.
"Not again..."
And once again, Dragon Fear erupted.
"Krrrrraaaaa!"
Instantly, the Gnoll surrounding us turned around and started running away as fast as their legs could carry them.
"W-what is this..."
We were bewildered by the Gnoll who had suddenly run away. We had never imagined such a scene.
All that was left in the place where the Gnoll had disappeared was a very severe stench.
* * *
"Kyao!"
Yong-yong smiled and let out a small cry, as if he was happy to be out of the smelly place.
"You're amazing, you little rascal?"
I stroked Yong-yong's admirable head. I was originally planning to use Fighting Cock, but I felt even better now.
I can use Fighting Cock anytime, but I can't easily find out about Yong-yong's other uses.
"So this guy is something else? I did the roar instead, but it was enough to freeze me a little."
"Because he's a Dragon. His mother was worse than this."
"Worse than this?"
"There's no comparison."
"Well, you saw the Dragon at a Gate that was level 90 or higher..."
I stroked Yong-yong's head.
"Can you remember the feeling?"
"I don't know. Dragon's roar. It was Yong-yong's will."
"We need to find a way."
A roar that makes most Monsters pee their pants and run away. If we could use that at will...
Our party's strength would definitely increase by one or two levels.
"If only Yong-yong grows up, we'll have nothing to fear."
"Right. If we raise him properly, we can just go in with Yong-yong and say, 'Take care of it!' and it'll be over. As long as we're alive, a bright future is guaranteed."
"Hehe, I wonder when he'll grow up?"
Uncle said that and then flinched.
"Don't tell me it'll take decades?"
"...Ehh, no way."
"Don't Dragons live for hundreds or thousands of years?"
Uncle and I made eye contact.
"......"
"......"
A moment of silence followed. It would be a little awkward if it really took decades. Of course, it's still good now... What's the point if only Yong-yong grows up after we're all old?
There's no information on the internet about how to raise a Dragon, and there's no way to know how long it will take to grow.
"He hatched after eating a Flame Elixir, so maybe he'll grow if we feed him Elixirs?"
"I'd rather that be the case. Then we wouldn't have to wait decades."
"Right."
"If we want to experiment, we'll have to work hard and go through Gates again."
It felt like we had another child who wasn't even born yet. One with ridiculously expensive tuition.
We decided to stop the small talk and focus on the main topic.
"It's a waste of time to catch the Gnoll who ran away, so let's look for items in the ruins first."
"Yeah. Even if those guys come back, they'll run away with one roar from Yong-yong."
I pointed to the temple in the center of the ruins.
"Let's go there first."
It's in the center of the ruins, and it's a temple. There's a high probability that there's something there.
Of course, that temple-like place might be a bust.
Valuable items might be found in a shabby building at the entrance of the ruins. It's a matter of probability.
Still, it was standard to check out the impressive-looking temple first and then go around the outskirts.
"How's Minseok doing these days? He moved and went to a new school."
"He seems to be adjusting well. I guess word got out that his dad is a Dragon Knight, and he's made a lot of friends."
"That's a relief."
Yeah. How cool would a Dragon Knight with a Dragon be to kids?
While we were talking, we reached the temple-like building in the center of the ruins. It definitely looked like a temple.
The face of a woman was carved in relief. Maybe it was the goddess they believed in here.
"How's your spatial sense?"
"I don't feel anything special. I'll have to go inside to know."
At least as far as my senses could reach, I didn't feel anything particularly dangerous, like traps or enemies.
It seemed to be a long temple from front to back, so I would have to go inside to know the details.
"Let's get ready for battle and go."
You never know what might come out. Maybe there are several Awakened Gnoll inside. We opened the door with our weapons in hand.
Creak-.
But there was nothing inside. It was a desolate temple, similar to other ruins.
That's when the Gate notification popped up.
[The Space Master summons the past time in space.]
"Huh?"
"Space Master?"
And only Uncle and I stopped in this space. That meant the surrounding time had begun to flow backward.
The old and desolate temple gradually regained its color. Time flowed backward, dust disappeared, and the furniture became intact.
Of course, it didn't turn into something new.
It looked like quite a bit of time had passed, maybe ten or dozens of years had gone back. But it wasn't a ruin like before.
"W-what's going on?"
"It seems to be related to my job."
"They said Space Master?"
"...I'm a Spatialist. Maybe it means the master of space or something?"
Damn message.
Even in this situation, I couldn't reveal that I was a Space Master, so I made excuses with all my might. Fortunately, Uncle seemed to be focused on his surroundings and didn't pay attention.
Still, it was quite embarrassing to summon the past time in space.
Maybe the previous Space Master said that I was the hope of this world because of something like this?
'Come to think of it, I felt like Gate mutations happened more often to me.'
I didn't get these notifications back then.
I didn't know exactly, but it seemed like there were more secrets to the Space Master job that I didn't know about.
[The Gate has mutated.]
[Declining Temple]
-Recommended Level: 21~25
-Investigate the Declining Temple. Time remaining: 4 hours 59 minutes.
The notification popped up right after that.
'Investigate.'
Beyond just having good items, it seemed like there was some kind of secret.
Creak-
Then I heard a sound from inside the temple. I turned my gaze and saw a person opening the door and coming out.
It was a male Priest who looked to be in his mid-40s.
"...Brothers have come."
The Priest also looked slightly surprised to see us, then bowed his head and greeted us.
"May the blessings of light be with you. Brothers, welcome to the temple that serves the Goddess of Light."
The Priest, standing in front of the sunlight coming through the huge window behind the goddess statue, looked quite sacred.
A person came out.
It seemed that the Ruin Gate we had entered had mutated into a 'story-type Gate.'