Chapter 156
Chapter 156
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 156
Chapter Title: Disaster of Solitude (2)
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“An Ark Gate…!”
Han Hyeok-jun immediately drew his sword.
He must have heard about the things related to the King of Disease.
Seeing as he called it an Ark Gate the moment he saw it.
“What’s going on? Are the Paradise bastards using an Ark Gate now?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
There were no signs that anyone had been here.
More importantly, this gate hadn’t been here for long. Two days at most.
Paradise was likely unaware of this Ark Gate's existence as well.
Even I only noticed it after venturing deep into the mine shaft, to a section that hadn't been properly developed.
“They all know how dangerous Ark Gates are. To openly mine Stigmas with one around means they don't value their lives. There's no way those guys, who treasure their own lives the most, would be moronic enough to use an Ark Gate directly. Especially in a Stigma mine. It'd be like cutting off their own source of income.”
The Order might be a possibility.
But even for the Order… no. If it’s ‘him,’ the one in charge of the Korean branch, he's more than capable of pulling any crazy stunt.
I stared at the shimmering Ark Gate.
It’s different from the time with the ‘King of Disease.’
That’s the type where a demonic beast crosses over to this side.
‘The most dangerous part is that it’s a Disaster-class.’
There aren’t many Disasters that cross over through an Ark Gate.
No matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn't recall any powerful enemy being summoned at this timing.
There were no clear answers.
The most incomprehensible part was that the next chapter hadn't even started yet.
As long as the ‘Training Grounds’ opened by the succubus remained, the next chapter wouldn't begin.
The whole reason I dealt with Corrupted Ignis right away was to buy time until the next chapter started.
“Kim Se-hyeon. What are we going to do? Wait here and attack it the moment it comes out?”
“That doesn't sound like a very good idea.”
Fighting a Disaster head-on without it being weakened in the slightest?
I could recommend that as one way to commit suicide.
They're not called Disasters for nothing.
Still, I decided to watch for now.
I thought that if it was a Disaster we could handle in our current state, dealing with it right here wouldn't be a bad idea.
But it didn't take long for me to realize I was wrong.
[The ‘Disaster of Solitude’ is being summoned.]
“…What?”
[warning!]
[error code 107]
[Chapter Error! A ‘suppressive force’ is being applied to the target!]
From within the Ark Gate, a humanoid figure slowly extended its hand.
The moment I saw the worn, dark armor, I knew it was real.
That is the real ‘Disaster of Solitude.’
[Ch. ?? - Disaster of Solitude]
%$3*sg#w0&g%a72^@
A system message riddled with errors appeared before my eyes.
Which chapter it was. What its contents were.
A bizarre window where only the chapter title was normal, while everything else was distorted and broken.
“Ugh…!?”
Only a part of its body had emerged.
And yet, my entire body was being crushed by something like a powerful aura.
Han Hyeok-jun’s face was also contorted, and his sword was trembling slightly.
“Find the intruders!”
“They’re inside! There’s only one way out anyway!”
“The deeper they went, the harder it’ll be for them to get out!”
To make matters worse, members of Paradise were swarming in from the path we came from, trying to catch us.
Damn it. Did they detect the intruders because of the sudden, strong mana fluctuation?
Han Hyeok-jun shouted urgently.
“What are you going to do? We need to decide quickly!”
“Is there even a question?!”
I yelled, looking at the Disaster of Solitude, already halfway out and shrouded in something like blue lightning.
“Run!!”
This isn’t an enemy that should be appearing yet.
In our current state, defeating it is next to impossible.
In terms of chapters, it’s an enemy we shouldn't be fighting for at least another 15 chapters.
You can easily understand how big a 15-chapter difference is by comparing myself from the stadium to my current self.
I was barely at the end of Chapter 11 when I took down Corrupted Ignis.
And the chapter stat limit that applies around Chapter 15, which would start later, is 60.
Even thinking along those lines, there’s a massive gap between me when I escaped the apartment and me around Chapter 15.
“There they are!”
“You rats! I don’t know how you got in, but you won’t die a peaceful death!”
“Get out of the way, you idiots! This isn’t the time to fight!”
I dodged the swarming enemies, ran along the wall, and leaped far.
The startled enemies took a moment to regain their senses and give chase, but there were more of them inside the mine than I expected.
“Yahhh!”
I just ran, dodging attacks coming from all directions.
Perhaps because the enemies weren't much of a threat, Han Hyeok-jun was also fending off their sheer numbers without much difficulty.
To be precise, he was killing them all without holding back.
Did that guy completely give up on the angels' support?
“Don’t kill them! Just dodge!”
“Why! These bastards are running right at us! There’s no reason not to kill them!”
For a moment, I was reminded of a certain someone who uses ice.
These psychopaths. Are they itching to kill people?
“It’ll be easier to escape if you don’t kill them!”
As if he understood what I meant, Han Hyeok-jun finally stopped the slaughter and switched to evasion.
The more people there are for the pursuing Disaster of Solitude to see, the slower its pursuit will be.
There’s no reason to kill these valuable personnel who have graciously volunteered to be meat shields.
[The ‘Devil Who Mocks the Heavens’ facepalms.]
[The ‘Cunning Hypocrite’ watches with great interest.]
[The ‘Seat of the Blindfolded Scales’ urges you to fight against the Disaster.]
Fight the Disaster, they say.
Justice that preaches ideals without the power to back them up is no different from evil.
I cursed inwardly and pointedly increased my speed.
‘Even so…’
“Get them!”
“Kill them!”
For some reason, their numbers kept increasing over time.
I don’t think there were this many people from Paradise in this mine.
Even if they called for reinforcements, the timing doesn't add up.
Everything, inside and out, is incomprehensible.
Just as I was wondering if I should just force my way through, the entire mine suddenly started to shake.
*Rumble…*
Dirt crumbled from the ceiling, and I staggered, finding it hard to keep my balance.
It was too artificial to be an earthquake.
The cause of this tremor was probably the ‘Disaster of Solitude’ going on a rampage.
This is bad. If it rampages in the deepest part of the mine, the tunnels will collapse in an instant.
*Crack!*
*Crrrack!*
“Waaah!?”
“The-the ground is cracking…!”
“It’s collapsing!!”
In the end, both in front and behind us.
The ceiling and floor began to collapse on both sides simultaneously.
A situation where moving forward or retreating was impossible.
But if we stayed put, we’d be crushed by the collapsing ceiling.
“Han Hyeok-jun! Stay close to me!”
*Crack!*
I took out one of the Stigmas I had prepared and shattered it with a hand infused with mana.
Instead of absorbing the Stigma, breaking it like this allows one to obtain a skill for ‘one-time use.’
This was why I wanted to collect Stigmas, even if they were only B-rank.
‘B-rank, earth-related. Defensive type.’
I checked the skill I had obtained.
Rampart of Protection.
A skill that raises the surrounding earth to create a hemispherical defensive barrier around the caster.
If the skill was B-rank, it would be more than enough to create a shelter within the collapsing mine.
Among the earth-related defensive skills, this was the most useful one for the current situation.
[Using skill, ‘Rampart of Protection’.]
I placed my hand on the floor and used the skill, and the ground instantly shot up, enveloping us.
*Rumble…*
The tremors gradually ceased.
Only after the ceaseless roaring that had been pounding our ears finally stopped did Han Hyeok-jun and I let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.
I had a plan to destroy the mine, but I never thought it would happen like this.
The roaring stopping meant the Disaster’s actions had also stopped.
Now was our chance to get out of here.
“This… it must be because of that monster from the Ark Gate, right?”
“Probably.”
I nodded and looked around.
A space barely three meters wide.
If we stayed here, we'd soon be in danger again from lack of oxygen.
But if I canceled the Rampart of Protection, we’d be crushed as the rest of it collapsed.
We had to find a way to escape from this state.
‘Should I use Annihilation of Darkness to slowly make a hole?’
It would consume a significant amount of mana and take quite some time.
Plus, one wrong move could cause the rock to collapse again.
Forcing a path recklessly could lead straight to the afterlife.
As I stood lost in thought, Han Hyeok-jun spoke up cautiously.
“When did you get a skill like this? I thought you weren’t an earth-type.”
“I used a Stigma. There's no way I'd normally acquire and use a skill that doesn't even match my attributes.”
“You were lucky to get one that fits the situation. Well, it’s better to use up a skill slot than to die here.”
Han Hyeok-jun smiled bitterly.
It wasn’t a coincidence.
I can interpret Stigmas, so I knew what skill it was and chose the one I wanted.
Plus, since I used the one-time acquisition method, I didn't waste a skill slot.
I have ‘Speciality,’ but it would be a waste to use it on a B-rank.
Han Hyeok-jun tapped the collapsed rock wall.
“I can break through this… but it’ll take a while to smash our way out.”
We came in deep, so we’d have to pour in a ton of mana.
Still, we had no choice. It was better than just sitting here and waiting to die.
Just as I sighed and was about to move, Han Hyeok-jun, who seemed to have thought of a good idea, smirked slyly. He approached the blocked path and placed his hand on it.
“What are you doing?”
“Just watch.”
[Character ‘Han Hyeok-jun’ uses the skill ‘Dig’.]
A cylindrical hole about a meter deep was drilled where Han Hyeok-jun’s hand was.
For a mere D-rank skill, it was quite effective, probably because of Han Hyeok-jun’s high mana stat.
There was no sign that the surrounding rock would collapse.
…What is this? It’s getting resolved this easily?
Seeing my dumbfounded expression, Han Hyeok-jun grinned and said.
“Sometimes, even a dud can be useful.”
***
Han Hyeok-jun kept using the Dig skill, creating a long, diagonal path, and we followed it upwards.
From what I saw, Han Hyeok-jun used the Dig skill dozens of times.
Just as I was starting to realize just how deep we had gone.
*Thud.*
At some point, a hole opened up, and light streamed in.
My eyes met Han Hyeok-jun’s.
Then, as if competing, we threw ourselves out of the hole.
But waiting for us, after all that effort to get out, were dozens of members of ‘Paradise.’
They, too, seemed not to have expected us to dig our way out. They looked startled and awkwardly took up combat stances.
“W-what the hell are these guys!?”
“To come back alive from the collapsed section, that’s amazing… wait a minute. I’ve never seen these faces before.”
“Aren’t those two the intruders?”
It seemed they had been stuck, unable to do anything, because the mine had collapsed while they were chasing the intruders.
They weren’t threatening enough to make me nervous.
In fact, I felt a sense of relief.
“Digging our way out of a collapsed mine, relying on the light of a flame, was harder.”
I smiled wryly in agreement with Han Hyeok-jun’s self-deprecating remark.
If I had to choose between the two, I’d definitely pick this.
First, I needed to let people know about this quickly and come up with a countermeasure.
To do that, I had to deal with the enemies in front of me first.
“Ugh!”
“C-crazy! What is this— Keuk!”
The moment I thought that, the enemies suddenly started collapsing.
The clear sound of something shattering, and a subtle chill in the air.
And the sound of something teleporting.
This was rather unexpected, so my eyes widened as I fixed my gaze on the two who had suddenly appeared.
“So you were here.”
“What in the world is going on? Why is Paradise here?”
It was Hwang Chan-jin and Jun Bo-ra.