The Giant's Descendants
Hamburg.
Germany’s largest port city, and home to the headquarters of Drei Strega—the guild hosting this meeting.
The exotic scenery is truly beautiful.
“Tired of the sea already?”
Hohoho. The vastness of nature never grows dull, no matter how often one beholds it.
She sounds just like an elder.
Though Nyx is hardly an ordinary elder.
As we cruised along the coastal road, Jiyoung poked her head out.
“By the way, Master, why Drai… Drai-gi?”
“Drei Strega.”
“Does the guild house have to be right on the harbor?”
“Instead of somewhere like Seoul?”
“Yeah. I heard it’s a fairly large guild in Germany, so wouldn’t that put them at a disadvantage for recruiting or clearing gates?”
“If you translate the guild name literally, it means ‘three ships.’”
A question mark floated above Jiyoung’s head.
“Their parent company made its fortune in shipbuilding.”
“Ah, so that’s why the ships.”
“Before the gate incidents began, their northern location wasn’t much of a problem. At the time, it wasn’t a bad decision.”
Ellen slipped naturally into the conversation.
“Ah, the Executive Director is right.”
“Call me Ellen.”
“Huh? But that’s…”
“I’m not your guild’s executive director anymore. Just speak comfortably.”
“Is that really okay?”
“I’m older than you, so I’ll speak casually.”
She was already speaking informally, but added the excuse anyway.
“You’re Karla’s friend, after all.”
“Ah, hehe.”
Jiyoung grinned broadly.
Ellen still seems to be conscious of Karla.
She probably hasn’t let go of those feelings yet.
She’d be better off giving up quickly.
Because in the previous timeline, the thing she regretted most was letting Karla go.
If I keep Karla by my side, her future will change from her past life—so there’s no need to feel too sorry.
The vehicle that had been speeding along the coast came to a stop in front of a condo built atop a cliff.
“Executive Director Ellen, we’ve been expecting you.”
A middle-aged man with a sharp jawline and striking beard came out to greet us.
“Stefan. It’s been how long?”
“Half a year, I believe. More importantly, why don’t you introduce your other guests?”
“Honestly. Am I not welcome anymore?”
“Of course not. It’s simply that reminiscing in front of such distinguished guests would be inappropriate.”
Ellen pouted and stepped aside.
“Mr. Yu. A player from Korea.”
Stefan broke into a wide smile.
“The hero of the Spice Islands! Your reputation precedes you.”
“Thank you for the warm welcome, Guild Master Heidrich.”
“Please, call me Stefan.”
Stefan Heidrich, master of the Drei Strega Guild, extended his hand with evident goodwill.
“I look forward to working with you, Guild Master Jin-ho Yu.”
“Likewise.”
We clasped hands, each envisioning the gains we stood to make.
Stefan Heidrich guided Ellen and me to the guild master’s office.
“The others have been shown to their rooms.”
“Does the Drei Strega guild house have facilities like that?”
“The building was originally a tourist hotel.”
“Guild Master Stefan puts a great deal of emphasis on guild welfare.”
Ellen chimed in.
If my memory served, they had spared no expense on benefits to overcome the penalty of having their headquarters on the coast.
“In any case, we’re grateful for Executive Director Ellen’s proposal.”
I swallowed a bitter smile.
On the surface, the reason Ellen and I had come to Drei Strega was to assist with gate closures.
“With Arme Rouge’s activities having decreased recently, we were in quite a bind.”
Arme Rouge.
The guild led by Rene Davis.
“They’re France’s top-ranked guild, yet they have influence in Germany as well?”
“It’s embarrassing to admit, but our nation’s player forces are inferior to France’s.”
Before the Tower of Babel appeared, Germany had been the leader of the EU.
But everything changed once the Tower manifested.
The resources emerging from Babel were deeply tied to mana engines, magical engineering, and what was essentially the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Unlike France, which possessed the exceptional player Rene Davis, Germany had almost no outstanding players.
“Has the government shown any resistance?”
“Hahaha! There’s no need to worry, hero of the Spice Islands.”
“……It’s a bit long. ‘Guild Master Yu’ will do.”
“Ah, my apologies. Once the government learned that Guild Master Yu had accepted our invitation, they promised full support at the national level.”
Officially, it was presented as Drei Strega extending the invitation.
The Korean government had already been briefed by Association President Kim Woosung, so there were no issues on that front.
I had been concerned about Germany’s reaction, but it seemed my worries were unfounded.
Of course. With Yeo’s contractor visiting, such treatment is only natural.
Why does the goddess look so smug?
“Please tell us which gate needs clearing.”
“Stuttgart, the major city in the south. An S-rank gate has opened there.”
“How much information do you have on it?”
“Only the entrance. Even with our guild’s capabilities, advancing further has proven difficult.”
Stefan offered a wry smile as he handed over a tablet.
[Descendant of the Giant]
Rank: S
Area: Large (estimated to be the size of an entire city)
Monsters: Cyclops
*Cyclops
One-eyed giants averaging 10 meters in height.
Possess explosive strength but lack agility, which is their weakness.
They compensate by firing bizarre beams from their eyes.
Capable of both melee and ranged combat. Their durability makes them difficult to deal with.
*Caution
They travel in groups of at least three from the entrance onward.
Deeper inside, group sizes increase. Up to ten have been confirmed traveling together.
“That’s all the information we’ve confirmed.”
“Heh, I’ve never even met a Cyclops before.”
Ellen licked her lips.
Please maintain some dignity, Executive Director of Gold Moon.
“When can we begin the raid?”
“We’ve scheduled the visit for tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
After the briefing, we were shown to our rooms.
“Agh, I’m exhausted.”
The moment I lay down on the plush bed, sleep came rushing in.
A fatigue I hadn’t felt in a long time.
Between the bloody battle in the Sahara Desert and the nonstop activity in Algeria, both my mind and body were worn out.
Don’t let your guard down completely.
“You’ll protect me, won’t you, Goddess?”
Yeo is not your attendant.
She huffed and turned her head sharply.
Even so, if anything suspicious happened, she would clearly intervene.
Still, I had to say it properly.
“Rene Davis won’t be able to reach this far.”
Why are you so certain?
“Different countries, and the losses he suffered in Algeria were that severe.”
Hmm. If you are certain, then there must be a reason.
“The real problem is that Germany’s forces are weaker than expected.”
I furrowed my brow.
Rene Davis had begun moving despite the damage he took in Algeria.
He wouldn’t act without some basis.
It was highly likely he had established the same spell arrays in France that he had set up in Algeria.
“The whole of France could turn into another dimension.”
Is such a thing possible?
“That was the original purpose of the arrays in Algeria.”
If even the slightest chance of that happening exists, then this country is in danger as well.
“The probability isn’t high, but…”
Anything above zero is worth being wary of. A truly wise judgment.
The future events were accelerating compared to before the regression.
In my previous life, Rene had turned France into another dimension only after the Age of Destruction began, but I couldn’t afford to be optimistic based solely on those memories.
Everything had changed from the moment the Klyphoth cult exerted its influence.
I had to move while assuming the worst-case scenario.
“Even if the future has changed, that doesn’t mean everything from before is useless.”
I lightly tapped my head with my right hand.
Hoh. You seem quite confident.
“Even if the timeline has shifted, their fundamental nature remains the same.”
Meaning the methods those who have strayed into heresy can employ are limited.
“Exactly.”
Harab Serapel’s spell arrays.
Gaag Shevla’s bloodstones.
Whenever the Klyphoth cult moved, there were always “signs.”
Now that I had become a director of the Black Network, I also possessed an information network spread across the world.
If I could identify the Klyphoth’s schemes from my past life, I could stop them in advance.
The same applied to Rene Davis’s actions.
“I’ve already given instructions to Madam. If they make any suspicious moves, we’ll strike immediately.”
You are a truly meticulous man.
The next day.
Guided by Guild Master Stefan, our group arrived before the gate that had appeared in Stuttgart.
Gulp—
Enrique swallowed hard.
“Uncle, are we really raiding an S-rank gate?”
“Why? If you’re scared now, you can wait outside.”
“Hmph! Who’s scared!?”
“Then go in first.”
“I’ll yield the first entry to you, Uncle!”
He was getting tense in the most uncharacteristic way.
I gave Enrique’s shoulder a light pat before stepping into the gate.
The sensation of floating in the sky.
It had been a while since I last felt that weightless feeling—then my feet touched solid ground.
Everything is gray.
I nodded at Nyx’s observation.
Large and small gray rocks.
A rocky mountainside stretched out before us.
A terrain where cover or concealment was nearly impossible.
Even hiding between rocks left one completely exposed from above.
An environment advantageous to giants far larger than humans.
“They appeared again. The dwarves.”
“Let’s teach them a lesson.”
About one kilometer from the gate.
From atop a 200-meter rocky mountain, a deep voice echoed loudly.
Three Cyclopes lifted boulders and hurled them with all their might.
Dragon's Wings
The maximum output of dark fighting spirit didn’t just deflect the boulders—it shattered them into pieces.
The Cyclopes, undeterred, continued hurling rocks one after another.
If left alone, the others could get hurt when they entered.
“You started this.”
Shrink
The distance closed in an instant.
Though I couldn’t cover the full kilometer at once, I had gotten significantly closer to the Cyclopes.
As I kicked off boulders with my movement technique and flew forward, their eyes gleamed.
“Die, dwarf.”
“We’ll burn you to ash.”
Flash!
Purple beams shot straight toward me.
A type of demonic eye that concentrated the Cyclopes’ mana into their gaze and imbued it with destructive will.
Far more powerful than throwing rocks.
You’ll regret this.
Blessing of All Things Erosion
Blessing of Greed
Let’s see how it feels when your own eye beams are turned against you.