Chapter 112
Chapter 112
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: Act 20. The Ruined World (4)
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“What is it?”
“Good heavens, I can’t believe it. There’s something embedded inside this dimensional stone. It’s like… yes. Something that draws in power, enough to seal something else. Incredible. How can something like this exist in physical form? I’m itching to study it right now.”
“…I understand your curiosity has been piqued, but you can’t.”
Yurgan returned the dimensional stone with a look of disappointment.
I glanced down at the dimensional stone for a moment before putting it into my inventory.
Something embedded inside that draws in enough power to seal things?
Even Min Gyeong-hoon hadn’t figured that much out.
I recalled the one dimensional stone that had been inscribed.
I had a gut feeling that what Yurgan mentioned and the inscription were somehow closely connected.
I shook my head slightly, clearing my thoughts.
“I’ll prove myself first. Which way is out?”
“Take these. If you carry them, you’ll be able to pass through the barrier freely. And the other one… hmm. I’ll tell you once you’re outside.”
I took the small orb and crystal, and headed outside the barrier as Yurgan instructed.
Was it because I had literally crossed the barrier?
The unpleasant air, which changed in an instant, felt like it was sticking clammily to my face.
-Ah, can you hear me?
The crystal I had put away flashed, and Yurgan’s voice came through.
“Loud and clear.”
-I meant to surprise you, but you don’t seem very surprised.
“We have something similar in my world.”
Though only the function is similar; the appearance and principle are completely different.
A long-range communication crystal.
It was an item that, when infused with mana, could connect to other crystals for long-distance communication.
-Hmm. In the meantime, I’ll draw the dimension-traveling magic circle. I can’t completely disable the barrier’s maintenance, so it’ll be slow.
“As fast as possible, please.”
-And I forgot to mention something. You should know this.
“What is it?”
-I can check how many monsters are near the barrier from my end. If there are too many, it’s a dangerous red. If there’s a significant number, it’s a cautionary yellow. If it’s not a problem, it’s a safe green. Right now, it’s red, of course, but for me to draw the magic circle with peace of mind, it needs to be at least green. Keep in mind that the barrier is spread over a wide area.
“Understood.”
Since the barrier was transparent and didn’t affect people passing through, ordinary people wouldn’t even know it existed. But to me, using Extreme Eye, the barrier’s form, how it was spread out—all of it was visible.
I followed the barrier with my eyes, checking the surrounding scenery.
It’s quite a desolate landscape.
Perhaps due to the barrier’s influence, it seemed no monsters, including demonic beasts, could get near the research institute. But a little farther out, I could see all sorts of things swarming about.
‘Should I clear the area along the barrier first?’
***
Shhhk!
The decapitated troll struggled before collapsing.
Unable to use its vaunted regeneration, it was actually weaker than an orc.
Seeing a creature I’d also encountered on Earth, I even felt a sense of familiarity.
Though it had mutated into a hideous form due to the virus.
“Is this all for this area…?”
There are no particularly strong demonic beasts.
The Death Bites that attacked the village likely either entered before the barrier was fully established or found a weak spot.
It seems to have been reinforced now, so the latter case is unlikely to happen again.
“How is it?”
I asked Alpha, who had appeared nearby and was kneeling on one knee.
[All hostile lifeforms within 500 meters of the barrier have been subjugated. The exact count is…]
“No, that’s fine.”
It’s surprising, now that I think about it.
Currently, the total number of soldiers I can summon at once, including Alpha, is five.
Alpha’s Commander trait supposedly grants each soldier power equivalent to a low B-rank, but to do all that in less than an hour?
‘…If I summon more commander-level units, things will get crazy.’
It was part of the plan, but it feels like the day I can wield more power than a large guild on my own isn’t far off.
It might even happen much sooner than I initially planned.
There’s nothing bad about it. If anything, it’s a boon.
The only problem might be that the situation is so good it’s making me act overly cautious.
I looked at Alpha and lightly stroked my chin.
[Alpha’s loyalty has increased.]
[A new skill can be learned.]
My hand, which was stroking my chin, stopped.
I focused on the second message that appeared.
‘It’s already risen that much?’
Loyalty is a concept similar to a summon’s experience points.
The more enemies they defeat, the more their loyalty increases, strengthening the individual.
This applies only to the individuals I have ‘saved,’ excluding ordinary soldiers.
[Alpha (Tenebris One)]
Strength: 80 Stamina: 80 Agility: 80 Mana: 80
Traits: Commander (S), Spirit and Integrity (S), Absolute Loyalty (S), Path of the Sword (S), The Darkest One (S)
Skills: (0/1)
Traits are fixed.
Skills can be learned a total of three times, depending on loyalty.
The system is that you check the list of learnable skills and choose one.
However, what I was seeing now had a slightly different element.
[List of Learnable Skills]
Shattering Moon (S)
Dark Pulsation (S)
…
Directly Impart
An unusual option at the very bottom.
I stared intently at it for a long time.
‘Does this mean I can impart a skill myself?’
This feature didn’t exist originally.
First Black Flame, and now this. ‘Lord of Darkness’ has noticeable differences from what I originally knew.
It feels like I’m playing a better, patched version of the original game.
And of all things, it’s the trait I’ve been focusing on the most recently.
“Hmm.”
It must be a groundless fear.
In the first place, I only know ‘a lot’ compared to others; I never knew everything.
Even by the time I saw the 00th ending, I hadn’t uncovered even half of what there was to know about the game.
It was impossible to learn everything about all the worlds and dimensions, and all their hidden secrets.
This meant that there could be plenty of other things I didn’t know.
“Besides, it’s not like I have a useful skill to impart right now anyway.”
[Alpha has learned the new skill, ‘Shattering Moon (S)’.]
Unless it’s an exceptionally good skill, it’s better to choose from the list than to impart one.
For various reasons.
I closed Alpha’s information window.
Even though the system is down, summon management works fine. It’s probably because they’re bound to me.
‘I feel like I’m slowly getting used to using Black Flame.’
Thinking about it again, acquiring Black Flame is a huge advantage.
Excluding those ranked EX, it’s practically one of the top-tier powers.
Even if it’s a weaker version than the original, it’s far better than not having it at all.
I need to raise my proficiency with all the powers I have so I can wield them well.
I looked up at the sky to check the sun’s position.
About halfway between directly overhead and the west. It seemed to be around 4 PM.
Since I can’t check the time, this is the only way to guess.
The barrier has turned green.
Yurgan must have started drawing the dimension-traveling magic circle, so I could head back now, but…
I still hadn’t found the real reason I came outside the barrier.
“Alpha. What about the thing I mentioned?”
[It was not within the search radius.]
I clicked my tongue softly.
I expected it wouldn’t be easy to find, but to think it’s not within 500 meters.
Considering the barrier is a perfect circle, the 500-meter perimeter along it is by no means a small area.
Doesn’t this mean I have to go even farther out, where all sorts of demonic beasts are teeming?
I have no choice. If I can’t find that thing, there was no point in coming to this other world.
[However, there was one peculiar thing.]
“Peculiar? What was it?”
[Traces that suggest someone stayed there.]
“Lead the way.”
I followed closely behind Alpha, who had already started moving.
Traces of someone staying here?
That can’t be. There are no living humans outside the barrier.
The people I met are this world’s last survivors.
And yet, traces of someone staying here.
“…It’s real.”
The moment I arrived at the place Alpha mentioned, I could tell that someone had indeed been staying here until recently.
An extinguished campfire. A crude tent woven from branches.
And the most important thing.
The scattered human footprints and the large, three-toed tracks of something non-human.
It looked like they had fled in a hurry.
A grin spread across my face.
Those large tracks belong to that thing.
My true purpose for coming to this world.
The Black Steel Dragon.
“Alpha. Be ready to fight at a moment’s notice.”
[As you wish, Lord.]
I caught my breath and ran at full speed.
A few minutes of running, following the clear tracks.
After breaking through a forest where not even the presence of a demonic beast could be felt, I finally found it in a wide clearing.
“Long time no see, tough guy.”
A dragon whose entire body was covered in black ore.
It wasn’t like the red dragons that typically appear in fantasy; while its appearance was similar, its intelligence was no different from any other animal’s.
I shifted my gaze to the Black Steel Dragon’s hide.
‘That mineral making up the Black Steel Dragon’s body.’
I have to get it.
It’s the mineral that stands at the pinnacle of all minerals existing in this world.
It’s said that when properly processed by a skilled craftsman, it boasts a hardness tens of times greater than diamond, making it comparable to legendary minerals like the Ten Thousand Year Cold Iron from martial arts stories or Adamantium from fantasy.
‘It’s actually treated as a legend in this world, too.’
Finding even a piece the size of a fingertip is valuable enough to buy a couple of mansions with money to spare.
I remember hearing it was named the Black Steel Dragon because the mineral is called Black Steel Stone.
It’s amazing enough that its whole body is covered in the mineral, but its main diet is also exclusively Black Steel Stone.
So much so that there’s even a saying that the reason Black Steel Stone is hard to mine is because that thing has already eaten it all.
Normally, the Black Steel Dragon’s very existence is treated as a legend, but I think I heard that because of the demonic beasts’ rampage, it lost its original habitat and started wandering around like this.
‘And…’
My gaze naturally turned to the person lying collapsed near the Black Steel Dragon.
Someone I’ve never seen before.
Was there someone left who couldn’t get inside the barrier?
I pondered for a moment, then brushed the question aside.
Unless they’re a dangerous individual, taking down the Black Steel Dragon comes first.
KABOOM!!
I rushed in and landed a blow on the Black Steel Dragon’s tail.
It was a fairly powerful attack, but it only ended with a few mineral fragments chipping off.
It barely did any damage and seemed to only piss it off.
“Still ridiculously tough.”
I clicked my tongue and created some distance.
Even for me, who had reached the 00th ending, the number of demonic beasts I had faced with physical defense surpassing the Black Steel Dragon’s could be counted on one hand.
‘That’s why I have to get it.’
To put it another way, if I make a weapon out of Black Steel Stone, I won’t have to struggle with enemies whose armor I can’t pierce.
My Sa-in-geom is still a good item, but compared to a sword made of Black Steel Stone, it’s obviously on a lower level.
Using a sword made of Black Steel Stone as my primary weapon and the Sa-in-geom only when needed would be highly efficient.
After all, in difficult games, you’re supposed to collect multiple weapons for different situations and use them accordingly.
“Grrrrrr…”
The Black Steel Dragon, finally noticing me, turned its body and let out a low growl.
It was intimidating enough in the game, but facing it in person is a different experience.
A body the size of a building. Defenses incomparable to concrete.
“Alpha.”
The soldiers hidden in the shadows quietly revealed themselves.
Having found a powerful foe, Alpha’s eyes glinted menacingly.
“It’s time to hunt.”