Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: 54장. 천상의 크리세 (1)
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1.
"I'm Michaela!"
Her introduction brimmed with pure energy.
But the El Pam party facing it wore expressions of bewilderment like never before.
'Michaela?'
'The owner of those glasses we're looking for?'
They never imagined finding what was supposed to be the hardest item would resolve this easily.
Of course, El Pam was different.
The moment this self-proclaimed Michaela appeared, he wasn't all that surprised.
'The possibility was always there.'
The glasses belonging to Michaela had been found recently.
That meant there was a high chance someone named Michaela was still alive here in the Heavenly Crise.
However, El Pam hadn't forgotten.
'She might not be the whole story.'
She wasn't the only one here—there would be others, and they might not be friendly toward the El Pam party.
'We have to consider it dangerous.'
No, by all logic, they were likely extremely hostile.
The Heavenly Crise had endured for a hundred years in an utterly isolated environment.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say its inhabitants had no sense of outsiders.
Moreover, there was a chance other adventurers had stumbled upon this place by accident, aside from the El Pam party.
'She said it herself.'
No, she definitely had.
"It's been a while since we've seen an adventurer?"
"Yes!"
This wasn't the first time.
That meant adventurers had definitely come here before!
Yet there was no word from them?
They had likely died here.
There was no reason to let their guard down.
If anything, El Pam's mind grew more complicated.
'Something's off about this place.'
Something he hadn't anticipated existed in the Heavenly Crise.
Regardless, El Pam continued the conversation.
"Nice to meet you, Michaela."
"Yes! Nice to meet you too! Really nice! There are only the Elder, the Village Chief, and me here!"
From her following words, the El Pam party learned more about the situation.
"So, what brings you here?"
Dibo answered her next question.
"We came looking for your glasses."
"My glasses?"
"Yes, did you perhaps lose your glasses?"
She pondered the question for a moment before nodding.
"My glasses? Yeah, I did lose them. But that was quite a while ago?"
Everyone was convinced she was indeed Michaela, and they all smiled at the fact.
"Boss, we're lucky!"
"Yeah, this is real luck. Let's grab the glasses and go."
They'd never dreamed of finding the item they wanted this easily.
"Could you give us one pair of glasses? We'll pay any amount!"
"Hey, Dibo. Get a grip. You think they'd use mesos here? We need to offer something else."
"Ah!"
It seemed like a minor issue, but no one was too worried.
Of course, El Pam was different.
"Michaela, do you know how to get out of here?"
"Boss?"
Everyone tilted their heads at the question.
Why ask that here?
"I was just about to mention it."
But the doubt didn't last long.
"You can't leave this place. There's some unknown barrier around the Crise right now."
2.
"I'm not sure when it started, but we can't get out anymore."
The moment they heard that explanation, Dibo and the others stared blankly.
It wasn't just because the words were so shocking.
'So that's why no one's come back?'
The chances were very high that it was true.
It was a gravely serious matter in every way.
"Boss, what do we do?"
Michaela's glasses no longer mattered.
El Pam was certain of one thing, at least.
"There has to be a way."
It wasn't a vague hunch.
'The Resistance wouldn't have used this as their final refuge if no one could leave.'
People had come and gone from here.
'It won't be easy.'
Of course, El Pam wasn't optimistic that it would be simple.
That's why he didn't rush.
"First, we gather information."
There was nothing more dangerous than hurrying down a perilous path.
Fortunately, a clue came quickly.
"You can talk to the Elder for the details!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Michaela led the El Pam party to their village and introduced them to the elder, Titan.
"It's been ages since we've seen an outsider."
And Elder Titan spoke.
"You want to go outside? I want to too. But sadly, there's no way. We're at the point where we have to worry about survival itself."
"Survival?"
"For some time now, the livestock we've been raising have turned into monsters."
The strange events plaguing the Heavenly Crise.
"Could you explain in more detail?"
"It's exactly as I said. We've been self-sufficient. Raising livestock and tending fields here. Then one day, the island shook, started breaking apart, and began moving on its own. When we came to, things were like this. We couldn't leave, and the island's livestock became monsters."
The moment El Pam heard that, he understood.
"Something controlling the Crise's movement malfunctioned."
Elder Titan knew the same.
"The Heavenly Crise has a core. That core's power is what sustains the Heavenly Crise."
He already knew the reason.
"Everyone, including me, believes the problem with that core is the cause of everything."
A perfectly clear reason.
So the El Pam party's expressions inevitably hardened.
'Even with a clear cause, they can't fix it...'
It meant the situation was so dire they couldn't do anything despite knowing the method.
Especially since the inhabitants of the Heavenly Crise weren't ordinary folk.
Giants!
A race whose physical prowess rejected comparison to normal adventurers.
'Monsters even giants can't handle.'
Monsters they couldn't deal with?
That meant extremely tough monsters.
That's why everyone's faces stiffened.
But they couldn't just sit idle.
El Pam said,
"We'll take care of it."
The El Pam party needed this, so it was time for them to step up.
"Could you tell us the core's location?"
And to resolve it, as Elder Titan said, they needed to check the core.
Of course, El Pam knew.
"The core is the most vital thing in the Heavenly Crise. Even if you're the first adventurers in ages, I can't tell you."
They wouldn't reveal it easily.
That was only natural.
If the El Pam party damaged the core further, the Heavenly Crise could plummet.
'They're resigned to their fate.'
Crucially, the residents here—the giants—had already given up on everything.
They lacked the will to solve the problem.
So no support was likely.
The simple reason El Pam brought it up despite knowing that was,
"We'll show you what we can do."
To earn their trust.
Of course, Elder Titan wouldn't trust them based on a few words from El Pam.
There was no reaction.
Expecting any from someone who'd resigned to everything would be the strange thing.
So Elder Titan said,
"Outside the village, those Jeobils are lying in wait. Bring some back after catching them. If you can't even do that, no need to talk further."
El Pam nodded at that.
"How many should I catch?"
"About a hundred. It won't be easy."
There wasn't a hint of expectation in Elder Titan's voice.
"Michaela will show you the way."
3.
"How'd the talk with the Elder go?"
Michaela, whom they met again.
"Those Jeobils? Oh my god."
Her face hardened the moment she heard about the conversation between the El Pam party and Elder Titan.
"It's impossible! Jeobils are vicious beasts! You could all die!"
At her concern, Dibo and the others smiled faintly.
Unlike Elder Titan, Michaela's voice carried genuine worry for El Pam and his group.
"They're no ordinary monsters. I know because they were my pet rabbits!"
But at her following warning, Dibo and the rest tilted their heads.
"Your pet rabbits?"
"Yes, my pet rabbits suddenly turned into unbelievable monsters."
At that explanation, Dibo and the others stifled laughs.
To think those monsters were transformed pet rabbits?
They weren't dismissing her.
If they were just feral rabbits, she never would've called them monsters.
But how scary could livestock rabbits turned monstrous be?
Moreover, the El Pam party were adventurers who'd faced countless terrifying monsters among monsters.
"Miss Michaela."
That's why.
"In the Maple World, I'm called the Hero of the Polearm. Nothing's safe from having its skull split by this polearm. I can sweep away some rabbits single-handedly."
Dibo showed unprecedented confidence.
With such a confident smile, the El Pam party followed Michaela's guidance.
"The Crise is now split into multiple fragments. Like stepping stones of islands. That's how we've survived without major issues so far. But from there on, it's different."
At the village's edge, like a cliff, Michaela pointed beyond the clouds.
"From that point, it's crawling with all sorts of monsters."
Dibo responded to her repeated worries with a smile.
"I'll sweep away those Jeobils for you. Don't worry at all!"
With that, the El Pam party headed to the place Michaela indicated.
The way there was the same as before.
They passed through the clouds.
Thus, the El Pam party arrived at the outskirts of Crise Village, as Michaela had warned.
Upon arrival, Dibo slung his polearm over his shoulder and said,
"The giants must be cowards. Scared of mere rabbits, after all."
Overflowing confidence.
Nor was he alone.
The others showed clear confidence too, if not quite as much as Dibo.
Everyone except one: El Pam.
He never dropped his guard.
"Livestock rabbits turned into monsters."
Dibo smirked at his warning.
"Yes, just rabbits at most."
"Just... You still don't grasp what I mean."
"Pardon?"
"I said livestock. Raised livestock."
That was the moment.
Kyukyu!
Before El Pam could finish explaining, a cry reached the El Pam party's ears, and everyone turned simultaneously.
And they saw it.
Kyuk!
A brown rabbit standing on two legs like a human, crudely gripping a spear.
"What the?"
Its appearance was undeniably monstrous, shocking enough to startle any viewer.
But that wasn't what startled the El Pam party.
It was certainly a monster they'd never seen in the Maple World before, but the El Pam party had seen every kind of monster on their journey.
They weren't the type to be surprised by something new.
Kyuk!
"What, so huge?"
Yet they were shocked because the Jeobil monster was far larger than they'd imagined.
It dwarfed even Ralph, their biggest in build, in both height and girth.
At that point, El Pam finished his explanation.
"A rabbit raised by giants. Did you think it'd be like the rabbits we know?"
"Ah!"
Only then did everyone understand why El Pam had emphasized "livestock" repeatedly.
Its size was bound to be extraordinary.
"Any monsters we face from now on will be bigger than you think—much bigger."
El Pam offered that advice.
"Dibo."
"Yes, Boss."
"Now, go catch one."
"Me? Alone?"
Dibo was aghast at El Pam's words.
"Ah, no, Boss. Because of what I said earlier..."
Of course, El Pam hadn't given the order because of Dibo's boast.
"What we're doing from now on is conquering this place. Before that, the most important thing is adaptation. Even fighting properly here won't be easy right away."
He knew.
"This is above the sky."
What it meant to fight above the clouds.
"You'll realize how hellish this place is."
And soon, his comrades would learn that meaning too.