Chapter 117
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Dark Lord's Memoirs
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Yawn, feeling extra sleepy today.
An old man clad in shabby armor yawned while standing guard.
Ugh...
Please, let me out... I feel like Im gonna die...
Faint groans echoed softly.
The old man was stationed in the underground prison beneath the royal palace.
It was a facility for housing and managing those who had committed grave crimes.
NPC Information
-Nickname: Karyan
-Level: 300
-Job: Retired Knight
The old man, Karyan, let out a snort.
Idiots. Thats what you get for not living clean and upright.
These werent just ordinary serious criminals.
To be precise, they were criminals who had incited rebellion within the royal castle.
In an attempt to dethrone Kaiserck V, Duke Ruanwho had once lost the battle for the thronehad drawn his sword and launched a coup. But it was crushed in less than two days, and they were thrown into this underground prison.
The ringleader, Duke Ruan, was confined in the deepest level of the prison.
Karyan, sir.
Just then, a knight approached Karyan.
Hm? What do you want with me?
Well... Theres an outsider here looking for you.
Oh? Where are they now?
Theyre waiting at the prison entrance. Figured they wouldnt want to see all this.
...Yeah, fair enough. Take over for me while Im gone.
Huh? But my shifts almost over...
Wont take long.
Karyan unceremoniously handed off his duties to the knight and left the underground prison.
Outside, he met Jang Ha-jin, who was waiting.
Hes got a faint whiff of aura. Definitely a knight, but his potentials lacking.
Karyan saw right through Ha-jins level.
Aura that was just average for his level, and meager potential.
Hed felt a spark of curiosity upon hearing about this outsiders recent feats, but it fizzled out just as quickly.
Hmm. Whyd you call for me?
...Nothing major. I was wondering if this item rings any bells for you.
Item?
Yes.
Ha-jin nodded with a resolute expression.
This was a precious opportunity Jeong Hoon had set up for him.
He couldnt afford to let it slip.
But Karyans gaze on Ha-jin was a bit odd.
He just stared silently, which made Ha-jin tense up and swallow dryly.
In the end, Karyan broke the silence.
...Hey. You messing with me?
Huh?
How am I supposed to know if it rings any bells if you dont show me the damn thing?
Hed been so nervous hed forgotten to even take out the Dark Lords Memoirs.
Ah! S-sorry!
Ha-jin fumbled to open his inventory.
Karyan sighed and shook his head at the clumsy display.
Lacking even the poise of a knight...
But when Ha-jin finally pulled it out, Karyans eyes widened like saucers.
Th-thats...?
The Dark Lords Memoirs.
...Whered you get this? This isnt something you shouldve gotten your hands on.
Just got lucky.
Ha-jin brushed it off with the same line Jeong Hoon had used.
But no quest appeared above Karyans head.
Whats going on? Isnt Karyan the starting point?
According to Jeong Hoon, a quest shouldve popped up from Karyan.
From his reaction, Karyan clearly knew something about the memoirs.
It was downright bizarre.
I dont know anything about that item, so head back. Even if I did, I wouldnt tell you a thing.
Karyan turned away with a stiff expression.
...Huh?
Wow, quite the crowd.
The northern wall was packed with people.
All gathered to witness the gates closure.
Time to get started, then.
Jeong Hoon approached the gate.
Wooong
As he drew near, the gate began spinning with intense vibrations.
The charging mana burst outward in sparks, forming sawblade-like shapes.
Stay back! Its dangerous!
Ragan shouted from atop the wall.
I told you its fine.
Jeong Hoon glanced back with a grin.
Thats a mana storm. Get too close and youre toast.
Mana storm.
A phenomenon caused by rampaging mana spilling out from the gate.
It could cause serious injury, so no one should approach carelessly.
Fun.
The corners of Jeong Hoons mouth curled up.
Sensing his presence, the gate stirred up a mana storm like it had a mind of its own.
Thats how it had been designed from the start.
Master! Better pull back for now. This isnt the time.
Anima tried to dissuade him.
A mana storm this massive was beyond what a human could endure.
Even a dragon in true form could barely withstand it within the storms range.
Even Siegfried couldnt do it! Back off!
Mukho was dead serious too.
Something even the first Magic Tower Master, Siegfried, couldnt accomplish.
Who knows. Maybe I can.
Ignoring their warnings, Jeong Hoon plunged into the mana storm.
You crazy bastard of a master!
Stupid! Stop!
He heard Mukho and Animas screams, but Jeong Hoon paid them no mind.
There is a way to subdue a mana storm.
The usual method to quell one was simple.
Unleash mana stronger than the storms to force it to dissipate.
But Jeong Hoon knew another way.
In his past life, on the brink of death after getting caught in a mana storm, hed gambled on it.
And the gamble had paid off.
Mana storms have five cores. Find them, and... you can disperse it with just a tiny bit of mana.
The theory had surfaced long ago.
Back then, Jeong Hoon had recalled it, located the five cores, and quelled the storm.
Hoon!
Damn... youre insane. How are you gonna handle this storm...
Hed even saved his comrades whod nearly been swept up.
Of course, they were betrayers now.
Whiiing!
Drawing closer to the storm, the vibrations assaulted his eardrums like they might burst.
Even wearing Mukho, the damage pierced through easily.
Still, Jeong Hoon didnt flinch, sharpening his senses to the extreme.
Sensitive Senses level has increased.
He heightened his senses to the max and dove into the massive mana storm.
A single gamble.
Aaagh! Were dead! Dead!
Your lifes not a toy!
Would you two shut up?
He couldnt focus.
Jeong Hoons eyes darted rapidly.
Got it. Bottom left: one, two, three.
Had he done this before?
Locating the mana storms cores wasnt as hard as expected.
But the fourth and fifth were in the upper right.
A bit far.
To release mana, hed need to reach out, and the distance was considerable.
Jeong Hoon first targeted the nearest core in the bottom left.
Boom!
Block activates.
After handling the third, Block triggered.
The sudden massive damage wouldve shredded him to pieces and killed him instantly without it.
Jeong Hoon quickly released mana at the remaining two cores in the upper right.
With a fierce vibration, the raging mana storm fell silent in an instant.
Wooong
Having exhausted its charged mana, the gate spun with small vibrations.
Subduing the storm didnt make the gate vanish automatically.
Gotta go in and shut it down myself.
Being a random gate, it was linked to some dungeon.
Sever that link to close the gate completely.
...Master, youre really okay, right?
You okay?!
As his focus broke, Mukho and Animas voices finally reached him.
Yeah. Im good.
Jeong Hoons reply unleashed a barrage from them.
You damn master! Why jump in while wearing me! Better to take me off first!
Charging in like that was reckless... If it failed, youd have been torn apart...
Different tones, but worry underneath.
Jeong Hoon nodded.
Fair point. But it was the only way to quell it right then.
This random gate had festered for ages.
The mana storm was inevitable, and if left alone, it wouldve overloaded, worsening the storm and eventually engulfing the entire castle.
Jumping in before it escalated was the best call.
Tch, anyway, next time something like this, leave me out.
Heh, says the one who worried most.
What?! When did I?!
You were bawling your eyes out. Probably.
Shut uuuup!
Theyd been fretting over him one second, bickering the next.
Alright, alright. Enough. Lets head in.
With the storm calmed, it was time to close the gate.
Jeong Hoon stepped onto the faintly vibrating gate, and his body was sucked inside in a flash.
Silence fell over the bustling crowd on the wall.
After a few seconds, it shattered from one person.
Woooah!
The mana storms gone!
An outsider had quelled the ferocious mana storm.
No way!
He solved in one go what even the Magic Tower couldnt!
Some cheered in ecstasy.
Sniff...!
Ugh... To think Id live to see that damn storm vanish with my own eyes.
Ricks! You seeing this, you bastard?
Others wept.
...
Some were too shocked to speak.
Ragan, watching it all, fell into the third category.
No one had ever quelled that mana storm.
Countless had died just approaching it.
So all they could do was defend Merhen from the monsters pouring outthat was their best.
But now.
The outsider named Hoon, whod racked up 90 contribution in the previous monster wave, had subdued the mana storm too.
C-Captain...? With the storm gone, can we get rid of the gate now?
No idea.
Huh?
He didnt know.
If he couldnt handle the storm, how could he know what came next?
He had no choice but to trust Hoon, whod boldly claimed he could eliminate the wave-spawning gate.
Luke, looks like your plans gonna fail spectacularly.
Ragan glanced at Luke.
Luke just stared blankly at the gate where the outsider had vanished.
Theme Dungeon: Ilions Castle
Youve discovered an undiscovered theme dungeon! Achievement points: 10,000 awarded.
This gate led not to an ordinary dungeon, but a theme dungeon.
Ilions Castle, no less.
No... way.
Of all the dungeons, it connected to Ilions Castle.
Whats this place?
Sensing something off, Mukho asked curiously.
...A place no ones cleared yet.
It was also where one of the betrayers, the spirit mage Jeong Chang-ho, had found a unique-grade Rune.
We basically gave up on it and ignored it...
To even find this theme dungeon, you needed level 201 and third job advancement to reach the next village.
But before that, Jeong Chang-ho would scout and clear it.
Even pouring every moment into growth, it was too tight a timeline... so theyd scratched it from the plans.
Yet here he was, entering it.
As the first discoverer, no less.
What insane luck!
Jeong Hoons face flushed with excitement.
Truth be told, the Rune was too good to give up.
Now he wouldnt have to.
Master, be careful. Feels pretty dangerous.
Anima was on high alert from the ominous aura around them.
And for good reason.
This theme dungeons level was a whopping 260.
Far beyond any dungeon hed entered before.
Oh, right, I know this one. Ilions Castle, huh?
Jeong Chang-hos smug, cocky grin and bragging had started it off.
Back then, as the weakest of the group, Jeong Hoon had listened intently to his heroic tales.
Ilions Castle.
Hed struggled hard here, due to the monsters special abilities.
Guess Ill have to use Leviathan here.
And Leviathan was designed to counter those special abilities.
Leviathans Wrath
-Type: Passive
-5 chance on attack to apply a debuff ignoring defense for 10 seconds. (Max 3 stacks per target)
-Does not activate on targets over level 120.