The Abyss of Opportunity
Jojun had completely subjugated the Parasitic Humans. While some remained hidden throughout the Crimson Zone, the Mushroom Men and Parasitic Trees were currently hunting them down. It was likely that even those hiding would eventually be brought to heel. But more importantly, the Parasitic Humans were no longer his primary concern.
"So, the Jet-Black Beetle... it really was enhanced."
Jojun stared at the Jet-Black Beetle that had approached him, wiggling its antennae. Its appearance had become sharper, somehow. The form, which had once looked like a house cockroach magnified hundreds of times to look grotesque, had become more refined, yet...
"Appearance... rejected."
It still wasn't a creature he wanted to get close to; he still didn't like the look of it. However, the effects of the enhanced Jet-Black Beetle were quite satisfactory.
"The lifespan of the offspring used to be three hours... but the restriction is gone."
The biggest change was that the survival time of the offspring had become infinite. Unless the Jet-Black Beetle itself died and the summoning was canceled, they would continue to survive indefinitely. Furthermore, the Jet-Black Beetle’s own vitality had increased, and its combat capabilities had seen a slight boost.
"If I keep breeding the offspring... the longer the Jet-Black Beetle survives, the more their numbers will multiply... I might end up covering the entire Korean Peninsula in them."
It seemed they would need management since they would starve without food, but Jojun didn't care. Human corpses were everywhere.
Having confirmed the status of the Jet-Black Beetle, Jojun began to consider how to operate the Narak (Abyss). "Since time flows faster here, I can exponentially increase the number of Mushroom Men, Parasitic Trees, and Jet-Black Beetles. If I can just stably increase the population of the lowest-tier Parasitic Humans and domesticate them... I could build an army of a million."
Jojun realized that if he utilized the Narak properly, he could rapidly bolster his forces. The Parasitic Humans born in the Narak seemed to have much shorter gestation and maturation periods than humans. Their lifespans were likely shorter as well, but that didn't matter. To Jojun, they were just like plankton at the bottom of the food chain.
"But one minute here is one hour, so if Nick entered this place... the seal would be broken in just six days of real-time."
Spending about a week outside meant a year had passed inside. If Nick, who had been rendered immobile for 10,000 hours due to the Book of Manti, were thrown in here, the seal would undoubtedly break in six days of real-time.
"The best course of action is to kill him before he wakes up..."
Jojun was unaware that Nick had already awakened and was roaming free. Eila, Bella, and Helen didn't know either. Naturally, the Good Gods had burned the Book of Manti just before the entrance to the Narak opened, waking Nick up. In fact, the Good Gods had waited until the Narak entrance opened, using the fact that the Narak could accelerate the breaking of the seal as an excuse to break Nicholas's seal at a very low cost. It cost far less causality to slightly accelerate a possible event than to make the impossible possible. The Good Gods had already half-turned their backs on the human named Nick.
"That aside... if I just set up the environment here properly, I could probably farm, too..."
Since time flowed several times faster here, if he planted crops, he could harvest them in about a week of real-time. Of course, he didn't need to worry about food thanks to the Plant Farmer and Druid classes, but he felt it would be better to use the Narak productively rather than leave it idle.
"If I drag the Eternal Sacrifice Dragon here and have the Parasitic Humans butcher it, couldn't I get hundreds of portions of meat in an hour? Even if I raise livestock... I could multiply their numbers immensely. Of course, the slaves who crawl in here to raise the livestock will age quickly... but whether those slave bastards age or not is none of my concern."
Jojun was excited at the thought that he could throw all the kids from his base in here and turn them into adults. It meant that if he threw the freeloaders who were just playing around into the hole, they would come out as adults in a few months. Delighted by the prospect of using the Narak, he approached the Seeker. He had already chased out all the Parasitic Humans in the room.
“Greetings.”
[You have come. Apostle of Disaster.]
Jojun had left Eunji and Kang Ha-young waiting at the entrance of the room just in case, and approached the Seeker alone to speak. The Seeker of the Narak stopped praying and looked up at Jojun as if it had been waiting.
[You have come to find the fallen angel, have you not?]
Jojun tilted his head at the mention of an angel. He had only heard from Indikron that she had a helper, but he hadn't been told their identity.
“Uh... I believe that is correct.”
At Jojun’s reply, the Seeker changed its hand gestures several times before speaking to him again.
[He is sealed in the center of the Hwangban (Yellow Spot). Exuding a terrible poison. I shall help you reach that place.]
The location of where he needed to go, the means to survive in the Hwangban, and the tool to break the seal of the one imprisoned. The Seeker of the Narak produced three items.
[I will not take payment. The Gods of Disaster have already paid the price. However, you must enter the center of the Hwangban alone.]
Jojun stared at the Seeker as if asking what kind of nonsense it was spouting.
A base camp located at the escape route of the Trapped Nest. Numerous people were gathered under the protection of the Saintess and priests, healing their wounds. They all had weary faces, but they didn't look completely desperate or devoid of hope. A strange heat, excitement, and motivation were visible in them. The reason was simple. Michael had finally figured out the strategy, and as a result of the Saintess and priests thoroughly using purification skills, they had managed to turn the path between the entrance and exit of the Narak into a safe zone.
They had dominated a certain area. That alone gave people the belief that they could conquer the Narak. Everyone felt energized at the thought that they might be able to dominate this place and turn it into a new paradise. Of course, Michael, who had given everyone hope, still didn't have a very bright expression.
“Ericsson, how many died today?”
“Twenty-three.”
“Haa...”
It had been about five days since they entered here. In reality, about 120 minutes, or two hours, had passed. During that time, about seventy people had died, and thirty had escaped outside with serious injuries. Honestly, looking only at the dead and injured, the damage was immense. With nearly two hundred entering and a hundred dying or becoming disabled, the Narak conquest was effectively a failure.
“Michael... is this really okay? Even if we figured out the strategy for this zone... don't we eventually have to leave here to recover Nick's memories? We have to go out there and face new threats. Do you intend to force sacrifices like this then, too?”
At Ericsson’s sharp question, Michael closed his eyes for a moment. As Ericsson said, many of those who led the survivor camp had died. Oliver, who had been with him since the beginning of the disaster, and the death of Antonio, the Inquisitor, were a huge shock to Michael. Of course, most of them were general classes, not hidden classes, so it was a stretch to call it a massive loss.
“Ericsson, you might be right. Honestly, I didn't think this many would die either... but we gained something more valuable than that.”
“What could you have possibly gained...”
“Time.”
“Excuse me?”
“As you saw... time flows faster in here than outside.”
“So?”
“If we use this well... we can gain tremendous benefits.”
“Are you saying... we should occupy this place and make it a colony? Is that... even possible?”
“It is possible. And Ericsson, think about it carefully. You are currently paralyzed because you are afraid of this place. Look, one minute in reality is one hour here. If we farm... we can harvest in just a few days. How significant that is... even if you aren't as brilliant a white man as I am, you should be able to easily understand.”
“Hmm... I suppose it would solve the food shortage. Assuming things go as well as you say, that is.”
“Exactly. We might be able to feed thousands of mouths. We no longer have to force useless sacrifices on people. We don't have to commit the folly of going outside the camp to find food knowing we might die. This is... a revolution.”
It would be perfect if they could produce power through generators brought from reality and those with electric-type skills, and supply horticultural lights, water, and soil to create light. He didn't intend to grow anything special. Planting potatoes was enough. Since there were about five awakened individuals with the Farmer class, it would be perfect if they rotated them into the Narak.
“We must take hold of the Narak not just to recover Nick's memories, but for our future survival.”
That was Michael's current thought. Ericsson, who couldn't shake the thought that the Narak was dangerous, couldn't openly agree with him, but he acknowledged the fact that they might be able to find a solution to the persistent food shortage problem here. It wasn't that there was a lack of food in the United States. It was that there was a lack of food in the place where they had settled. It was a problem that arose because the number of survivors was in the thousands. Since they couldn't leave for another location like a mass migration, they were isolated in one zone and quickly exhausted the daily necessities and food that were there. They couldn't just go to farmland like crossing a continent, either. Therefore, awakened individuals went out to explore other regions, but the number of awakened individuals lost during this process was too high. Most died or were hunted by others. Michael didn't like this. But they didn't have the means to hold out until the planted crops grew.
“So, the plan is changed. The search for the Cultists is temporarily suspended. I feel sorry for Roy, but there's no need to clash with them for no reason. It's better to get what we need right now and pull out.”
Thinking that the Narak itself might be more important than Nick's memories, Michael changed his initial plan. 'The Trapped Nest is a natural fortress... it's much better to build up strength while blocking external intrusions from within here than to clash with the Cultists for no reason.' As a result of checking with the Great Sage skill, Michael was able to know that the space they had fallen into was completely blocked off. Furthermore, Michael, who had even figured out that the name of this place was the Trapped Nest, thought it might be better not to go outside for no reason. If they went outside the Trapped Nest for no reason, threatening things from the outside could enter, and they might end up in a war with the Cultists who were clearly looking for them.
“To get out of here, we have to force our way through the walls or pass through the room with the Blue Thorn Giants to open the entrance. They won't be able to enter here easily, either.”
“Then are you abandoning Nick? The sacrifice of the few for the many... that's always what you said. You're ruthless even to your leader.”
At Ericsson’s words, Michael shook his head. He intended to capture both the fortification of the Trapped Nest and the rescue of Nick. With minimal sacrifice. To gain a truly dramatic profit.
“No. That's not it. We must recover Nick's memories. Recover his memories and recall the trigger words for the liberation of the Holy Sword. If he can't recover his memories, they say to kill Nick instead... but I can't do that.”
The three precious swords Nick possessed. One of them was the Holy Sword. The important thing was that only Nick knew the trigger words to draw the Holy Sword. Because he had lost his memories, he couldn't draw the Holy Sword. In a word, Nick, the stand for the Holy Sword, could be seen as having lost his ability. Therefore, the Good Gods gave a revelation to kill Nick if it seemed he wouldn't recover his memories. That way, the position of Savior would open up again. Nicholas was given this opportunity this time because the Good Gods had invested so much effort and poured in so much causality in the beginning; otherwise, Nick might have been branded a heretic and killed long ago.
“For now, let's have a few people go out and conquer the Spring of Wisdom, and have the rest focus on organizing this place.”
“What do you mean, a few people...?”
“The Saintess and I, of course, and the elite, including Nick, who must drink the water from the Spring of Wisdom, will break through the walls of the Trapped Nest and go outside. I entrust the command of this place to you in the meantime.”
“Excuse me? You're leaving this place... to me?”
“Yes... because unlike the other black people I've seen, you are trustworthy.”
“That sounds just like... you're saying all black people are untrustworthy...”
Michael, who had naturally engaged in racial discrimination, called together the praying Saintess and the hero party. 'As secretly as possible... we only need to kill the Headless Butcher...' They began to break down the walls of the Trapped Nest. To go to the place where Henry's torso was running wild. They probably didn't know. The fact that Jojun was coming there leading a great army.