Second City (2). #21. Second City.
The morning light had broken, but the mud huts had no windows, making it impossible to tell day from night. Glancing at my watch, I realized I’d overslept. After a light meal inside the hut, I stepped outside. There was no dining hall, so we had to make do with whatever the shops were selling. I waited for the others outside, though in truth I’d summoned them with my Command. I’d given it to Elena, and Yoo Dahui had given it to Horin; that was the only difference.
An odd atmosphere settled over the group. It was an elf party led by Elysha, a beastman party led by Horin, and then me and Yoo Dahui. In the blink of an eye, the party size had ballooned to over ten people. Anyone watching would’ve thought we were heading to take down the floor boss Golem on the 1st floor. We hadn’t even left First City yet, and we were already talking about Second City like it was nothing.
Party size increased due to summonings.
Yoo Dahui made her decision. “Horin, you and your whole crew, find the blue pillars.”
“Kkiik! How long do you expect us to search?!”
“When the sun sets, come back and rest. If you find one, I’ll give you your freedom.”
“Kkiik! I already know one!”
“Well, the one you know I already know, right? If you bring it to me, it’s over for you.”
“Kkiiiiiik!”
The pig that was screeching, the rabbit that was relaxed like it had achieved enlightenment, and the cat grooming itself. My eyes hurt. Horin raised her hand, as if she had something to say. She’d learned yesterday that you couldn’t just talk to me and expect results.
“Fine, speak.”
“There’s a question I want to ask the human male.”
“Ask the ancient elf when I get back.”
“Ah! Just tell me now!”
“Everyone, disappear from my sight.”
“No! You! Really! Aao!”
Horin and the other beastmen headed off to search for the blue pillars. What remained were four elves and two humans. Once the beastman party left, Elysha walked over to Yoo Dahui.
“Those beastmen… what are they?”
“People I met yesterday.”
“Why are they listening to Dahui? They look like they hate it.”
“I won them in a bet. Do you know what a duel is?”
“I’ve heard of it. But why a duel?”
“They set conditions, they duel, and the loser has to fulfill the winner’s conditions. These guys lost to me, so they’re helping me however I want.”
I deliberately avoided the word “slave.” It didn’t sound good at all. Only Elena seemed to understand the situation. Looking at her with narrowed eyes, as if sharing a bond of sympathy.
“Um… so that’s how it is. Interesting.”
Because they lived peacefully beside Yoo Dahui, the other elves hadn’t learned even the most basic things they should have picked up after three weeks of play. It was almost stupid to expect something from players who’d only been in the game for such a short time.
“They would’ve died if Dahui hadn’t saved them in the first place.”
No matter how you looked at it, Yoo Dahui had kept changing people around. “What are the blue pillars?”
“The blue pillars are…”
To answer Elysha’s curiosity, Yoo Dahui launched into an enthusiastic explanation. While she was talking, we headed out of First City.
“Ah… so you’re looking for the blue pillars to help the human boy?”
“That’s right.”
“Oh, so today we’re going to look for blue pillars?”
“And hunt at the same time. I have to keep earning coins, after all.”
A toad monster appeared. The same level as yesterday. It made no difference whether it was a beastman or an elf. I smashed its head in and gained 1,200 coins.
I cracked its head open with a single hit.
Effect:+1,200 Coins
Duration:Instant
“Oh…” Elena looked at me with eyes full of surprise, as if she hadn’t expected it. Her arms were crossed, making her chest stand out nicely. In the academy she’d been wrapped in armor, but today she was dressed light, like she was taking a stroll.
“Sigh…” Watching without doing anything made me get irritated. Vibrator mode activated.
“Euggg… Kim Jinwoo…!”
Elena’s hand suddenly shot up awkwardly. The moment I felt her Command taking effect, she shot me a glare like she was trying to scratch her own butt. She turned on the vibrator, showing off the suggestive move.
> Vibrator level lowered.
“Elena Commander?”
“…N-nothing… hng… I-I’m fine…”
“You’ve been strange lately, Elena Commander…”
Elysha watched Elena with worried eyes. Elena seemed uncomfortable with the approaching princess. The irony was that she actually looked like she was enjoying the situation.
“It’s because of that skull Lich bastard.”
Pluto, the skeleton Lich, had no dick. He couldn’t taste the slaves’ cunts. That was why he jerked off in front of his slaves and made them watch him. A gentleman, if there ever was one. Someone worthy of respect.
“I respect you, Pluto sensei.”
Thanks to him, I was tasting it, so he was my eternal captain.
We kept moving. Elena followed at the very back, legs crossed, with an awkward gait. Her reaction was way stronger than anything I’d seen before. What the hell?
To be sure, I gave another Command.
“Vibrate, lower.”
⟨ COMMAND ⟩
“Uuhng…” A tiny, inaudible moan slipped out. The actions that followed were sloppy. She didn’t turn around. The others in front of me didn’t seem to care either. Just like how we were ignoring Elena, she was ignoring us. That was the point of this party: we were growing while she stood on the sidelines.
“Ah…” A sigh escaped, sounding almost regretful. If I hadn’t been looking, I probably wouldn’t have heard it. It was that small.
“Vibrate, raise.”
⟨ COMMAND ⟩
But Elena didn’t move. What the hell? A Command made through a Submission Oath couldn’t be refused. Even an 8-star hero like Elena Trigard couldn’t fight it. Yet she wasn’t obeying. If she wasn’t obeying, that meant…
“Could it be that it’s already at the max?”
Elena hadn’t started at max to begin with. Lowering it by one step should’ve made it higher than max, which meant I couldn’t raise it back to max… Vibrator max ON. Immediately, Elena moved.
“Uuhng…” A satisfied moan escaped.
Whoa, that was twisted. How did this pervert get this way? We’d only met two days ago. While everyone else was oblivious, we arrived at the blue pillars the beastmen had told us about.
“Touching this makes you freeze instantly.”
“Why? Don’t know the reason?”
“I don’t know.”
The blue pillar was spewing mana wildly. A player with 10 magic power could touch it without freezing, but I was wondering how to explain that. The most effective way was to reach 10 magic power myself and show it with my own body. I’d also have to drip some information in naturally.
Elysha examined the pillar. She didn’t try to stop us even though nothing would change if she saw it.
🏛 Type: Mana Core
⚔ Difficulty: Unknown
📍 Floor: 1st
💀 Boss: None
“Hmph…”
“Princess Elysha.”
“Elbaren, what did you find?”
Elysha looked at Elbaren with eyes full of anticipation. Feeling the bright, sparkling gaze of the princess, Elbaren cautiously spoke.
“May I touch this blue pillar?”
“Huh? You want to touch it?”
“Yes.”
Elysha wasn’t the type to let her subordinate risk her life. The anticipation vanished. Her eyes filled with worry over sudden danger.
Elbaren asked again. Watching him beg for permission to touch something one time made the master-slave relationship feel incredibly frustrating.
“Touching it with your eyes is one thing, but clashing bodies with it might bring something greater.”
“But…”
“It won’t freeze you instantly.”
Among people who risked danger, Elbaren had plenty of composure.
“Princess Elysha, there isn’t a single corpse in this area.”
“…That’s true.”
“On the 1st floor, unlike the 0th, only toad monsters appear. Toads don’t eat corpses. That means no players have died from touching the blue pillar.”
Elbaren explained logically. There were no corpse-eating monsters on the 1st floor. No corpses near the blue pillar. Combined, that meant no players had died because of the blue pillar. You could just pull away and you wouldn’t freeze.
That’s right. The reason the pig beastman froze was because he’d touched the blue pillar because of Elena. Checking the cold once and pulling away would prevent freezing.
At that moment, Eloin stepped forward to the blue pillar.
“Then I’ll check it, Elbaren-nim.”
“There’s no need…”
“I believe this is something I should do.”
Head Elbaren, body Eloin. An elf knight wanted to divide roles that way. A chilly mana flowed.
Eloin took a short breath and reached out. “Eh, Eloin! Pull your hand away quickly!”
Eloin, with a dumb face, was already touching the pillar. Elysha shouted in alarm.
He’d been in contact long enough to freeze. If it had been the pig beastman, ten frozen portions would’ve been ready by now.
While stroking the pillar, Eloin said, “I don’t feel anything.”
“Eloin? You didn’t freeze?”
“The cold was only at first. Now I don’t feel it at all.”
“Ah…”
Elysha looked at Yoo Dahui, as if seeking an answer. Yoo Dahui, who obviously didn’t know, reached out herself and touched it.
Whoa, that’s freezing!
“Kkyaah!”
“Dahui!”
The cold mana swallowed Yoo Dahui whole. It was too obvious. Yoo Dahui rubbed her hands and said, “It’s insanely cold. Eloin, are you really okay?”
“I’m fine. For real.”
Heaven of curiosity. Elysha put her hand on the pillar too.
“Huh? I’m fine too? It just feels like touching a regular rock pillar.”
That meant Elysha also had 10 or more magic power. Because she was an elf? Everyone’s mana seemed high.
“Why only me…”
Yoo Dahui glared at me with empty eyes. She was telling me to touch it too. Sssssh—Naturally, frozen human. I pulled away immediately.
“Why only us…”
Watching her look pitifully sad, I figured I should drop some information.
“…Thinking simply, isn’t there a difference between elves and us?”
“Difference?”
“Yeah. Maybe because of race, or skill, or maybe stats. Something like a restriction.”
“Restriction…?”
Yoo Dahui fell into thought after hearing me. Elysha was looking at Elena, demanding an answer, but Elena didn’t know everything. She couldn’t know about hidden pieces that no one had taken yet. I was the only one who knew information from reading the novel and falling into it.
“Skills are too broad, so probably not.”
“Hmm?”
“Race or stats…”
Yoo Dahui looked at Elbaren. So far, two elves had passed, two humans had failed. The result for Elbaren would change the direction of my inference. I could steer him in the right direction if he went weird.
“Elbaren, touch it once.”
“Haha, understood.”
Elbaren, face full of tension, put his hand on the blue pillar.
“Huaa…!”
“Eh! Same reaction as us!”
Yoo Dahui’s eyes widened. She looked like she was about to yell Eureka.
Elbaren pulled his hand away. Even though he was the same race as Elysha and Eloin, he hadn’t been chosen by the blue pillar.
Yoo Dahui muttered, “Then it’s not the race either.”
“What I said was just an example, a feeling. Don’t think it’s definite. It’s just one possibility.”
“Stats… this one’s a bit hard to ask…”
Yoo Dahui wasn’t listening. She was already blindly believing my advice.