Chapter 171
Charles Dullin and Kim Seo-Yeon were walking along a deserted country road.
“How much further, Fox noona? The Dark Flame Dragon Knight hates walking,” Charles complained.
“We’re almost there. We’ll see it soon,” Seo-Yeon replied as she looked around to check they were going the right way.
“Why do I have to leave the Capital? I hate sweating...” Charles remarked.
“Then why did you accept Seong-Hwi oppa’s request in a heartbeat?”
“Hmph! I didn’t! Garuda said to overcome this trial if I wanted to become his comrade!” Charles raised his arm, revealing the sandbags wrapped around his thin wrists. “I haven’t been slacking off! I’ve been training all this time! I’ve finally met my match, so I’m training both my body and mind until the day of our final battle!”
His blue eyes blazed with unmoving determination.
Seo-Yeon smiled and thought, I can’t believe I’ve reached a point where that attitude of his looks cute. Have I finally gone insane?
Yip! Yip! Miho chimed in energetically.
Seo-Yeon felt like she had gotten a little brother who never listened to her. She never would have expected to feel this way. Everything about her had changed after hearing the true meaning of family from Seong-Hwi.
“Training, huh? How’s that marble oppa gave you?” Seo-Yeon asked, her voice a little kinder than before.
Charles frowned and replied, “Hmm... Hmph! It’ll submit to me soon enough. Il Drago Nero del Caldo sealed in my right arm is invincible!”
He pulled a spherical gem the size of a fist, shining with a mystical green light, from his pocket.
“A Cintamani... A Dragon Heart, huh? It appears oppa has high hopes for you,” Seo-Yeon remarked.
Charles, satisfied by Seo-Yeon’s words, fluttered his silky silver hair and laughed, “Haha! Obviously! Garuda is my nemesis and my rival! He realized my potential and is scheming to raise me as a worthy adversary.”
The green marble in his hand was the Dragon Heart of Selfinus Canhel, ninety-second on the dragon ranking. It was supposed to be transported to Spartoi of Clan Dragon Teeth, but Gilder Roy stole it and gave it to Seong-Hwi, who then gave it to Charles.
Charles recalled what Seong-Hwi said to him as he handed him the Dragon Heart.
“I will leave this with you, Charles Dullin. This jewel could either destroy the world or save it from the clutches of evil. I wonder if you’re capable of handling this heavy burden?”
Charles smiled proudly as he recalled Seong-Hwi’s words and thought, Big Bro, who stood tall before all those Rankers, gave me this! He acknowledged me!
He naturally said that he could and accepted the Cintamani.
But... he trailed off in his thoughts.
He transferred the marble from his left hand to his right, wrapped in white bandages. Black energy surged from his right hand and pushed away the marble.
“Argh! Why are you doing this? What’s the problem?” Charles shouted at his right hand as he placed the marble back in his left hand. Anyone would think he was off in the head if they didn’t know any better.
“I see it!” Seo-Yeon shouted as Charles was about to complain even more.
They were met with a city filled with pastel-colored buildings as if they were in a fairy tale. Seo-Yeon had to give up on entering Subterra to come to this city.
Just then, someone ran out of the city. Some brown was mixed with his fluttering red fur coat, and his feet were black as if he were wearing boots. He was a fox beastfolk.
“Yowl! Are you the human, Kim Seo-Yeon?” the fox beastfolk asked.
His eyes were narrowed to express goodwill, but it only looked like a nasty smile.
“Yes, I am Kim Seo-Yeon,” Seo-Yeon answered the fox beastfolk.
The fox beastfolk wagged his fluffy tail and greeted, “I heard from Cheon Seong-Hwi. Welcome to Fox Village. I am Stroppa, the chief guard.” His eyes narrowed even more as he continued, “So, you’re here to challenge the Foxfire, correct?”
***
Forestis referred to the vast region that spanned the third, fourth, and fifth regions, primarily consisting of forests, jungles, and swamps. Various races resided in Forestis, most being elves, beastfolk, nagas, insectoids, and spirits.
The insectoids and spirits were inferior races, so they mainly resided in the third zone. There was a hierarchy even among the inferior races, so the insectoids mostly occupied the third zone of Forestis. This was because Insect King Insectum, the Tenth Lord, resided there.
The elves, beastfolk, and nagas were intermediate races, but the elves were the majority. Although the beastfolk were protected by the Sixth Lord, Modak, only a few beastfolk, such as the tiger beastfolk, resided in Forestis. The Eighth Lord, Vipera Anguis, protected the nagas, but they were nowhere near the majority either.
In comparison, the elves, which were the highest of the intermediate races, practically dominated Forestis with their capital, Elvenheim, at its center. Not only that, but Sefirot, the World Tree, was in the fifth zone of Forestis, and the Fifth Lord, Keter, resided there.
Hence, several races and four of the Ten Lords and Fiends were involved with Forestis, which was like an explosive that could go off at any second. However, the thought was far too large-scale for anyone to take seriously.
***
The sound of a whistle echoed.
“This is the Lake of Mystery! Water spirits occasionally appear from this lake!”
“Wow!”
“Quick! Take a picture!”
“Come here, honey!”
Around thirty humans were in the third zone of Forestis. The one leading the group held a red flag labeled Spirit Tours.
Yet another haul, thought Wang Chen, a Spirit Tours guide, as he put away his whistle and stared with a smile at the humans taking pictures with the Lake of Mystery as their background.
Clan Spirit Tours satisfied the fantasies of the wealthy. Because the spirits were known to rarely show themselves, their presence alone was mysterious and fantastical. Many humans wished to view them, and the rich among them willingly visited the clan.
Of course, being rich in Coins did not necessarily equate to combat prowess, which was what Clan Spirit Tours took advantage of. They planned safe courses and added guards to make Forestis, where spirits were known to appear, a tourist attraction.
We take them around a forest that we didn’t spend a single Coin on developing, and get Coins out of it. What a perfect business plan!
Wang Chen planned to buy new sets of equipment with his comrades when they received their wages for this month.
Just then, a young man with a woman clinging to him asked, “Let’s go over there, tour guide. My darling wants to take a picture with that cliff as the background.”
The young man pointed at a cliff made with a unique rock formation beyond the lake.
Wang Chen smiled and replied, “Dear customer, you were informed before we began the tour that the area beyond here is the fourth zone.”
“What? So, that’s a no? Humans have reclaimed the fourth zone, too!”
“However, there are no human cities in Forestis. To be more exact, none after the Dry Tree destroyed Manaus.”
Although Wang Chen was smiling, his voice was firm. The young man was offended, thinking Wang Chen was threatening him. The man had earned a mountain of Coins as an item intermediary and had a bad habit of projecting his pride, born from his success, at any chance he could get. Not only that, but he was with his beautiful girlfriend today.
“Did he say no, honey?” the woman asked.
“Give me a second. Oh, yeah! The two of us will just go there and back real quick,” the man said.
Wang Chen said, “It’s too dangerous, sir. That place is—”
The man interrupted, “Shut up! We’re going there on our own, so what the hell is the big deal? I’m a Single-C, and my equipment is all B-rank! I’m more than capable of protecting myself and my darling!” he shouted confidently as he walked toward the lake with his girlfriend.
I must look pretty damn cool right now, the man thought, relishing in his sense of victory as he stared at Wang Chen, a B-rank human, not being able to say a word against him.
“Haha! Let’s go, Darling! I’ll protect you.”
“Let’s just take one picture and go back, honey!”
The young man and woman walked toward the lake with their hands on each other’s waists.
“Haaa, fucking weak-ass...” Wang Chen mumbled as he swept his forehead with his hand.
The number of people who thought they had grown stronger just because they had good items had increased. This was all because of the humans’ alliance with the dwarves.
Well, I’m sure it’ll be okay as long as they come back right away.
Such incidents were nothing out of the ordinary; they happened quite often, and Wang Chen believed it was just one of those days. However, he couldn’t have been more wrong.
“Wow! The lake is so clear! I can even see the rocks at the bottom!” the woman said.
“Haha, look over there. There are fish, too,” the man said.
Fish? Wang Chen thought as he turned to the couple.
There were no fish in that lake because the spirits hated them. He had not lied when he said that spirits occasionally appeared in the lake.
“Hey! Get away from there right now!” Wang Chen shouted.
The thirty dispersed tourists, looking around the designated area, all turned to him.
“Honey, he’s saying something,” the woman said.
“Ignore him. Let’s go,” the man said.
As soon as the couple dipped their feet in the lake, water spikes suddenly rose and instantly tore the couple apart. Flesh and blood fell into the lake, but its traces vanished in an instant. Silence once again found itself around the lake.
The tourists screamed.
“KYAAAH!”
“W-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!”
The pale-faced Wang Chen shouted, “Protect the guests!”
His eleven comrades, who had been guarding the perimeter, protected each guest closely.
Was it a water spirit? Undine? Undain? It’d be bad if it were an Endairon or above!
He and his comrades could protect the guests if they were against an Undine, a low-grade water spirit, or an Undain, a mid-grade water spirit. However, it would be difficult if they were against an Endairon, a high-grade water spirit.
In the worst-case scenario, I’ll have to buy time with Pause, and... Huh?
Something unbelievable happened; the lake stood up. No, taking a closer look, they were all water spirits. Undine were little girls in blue dresses. Undain were snakes with blue scales. Endairon were as large as a giant, and Elestra were in full plate armor that shone like sapphires and wielded a spear. The water spirits that humans classified as low, mid, high, and super-grade water spirits had come out of the lake.
“My... God!” Wang Chen shouted in disbelief.
The army of water spirits appeared furious. He couldn’t be sure of their victory against even one Elestra, but there were hundreds of them. He and his comrades didn’t stand a chance. That was not the end of it; a giant waterspout formed in the middle of the lake. A beautiful blue woman rode the spout upward. Every water spirit bowed courteously to her.
Could it be... Ellaim?
There were many rumors about the water spirit monarch, Ellaim. Regular spirits were hard to see, but spirit monarchs were even harder to see. Hence, rankings did not correspond to them. However, there were speculations that they were at least an upper Spare Ranker, or even a World Ranker.
Wang Chen fell to his knees and lowered his weapon, desperately begging, “G-great Ellaim! We apologize! We will go and never come back! I ask that you at least spare me and my comrades!”
However, Ellaim did not even look at them—no, it didn’t even look like she noticed them. Her focus was entirely on the forest behind Wang Chen and the others.
Footsteps echoed from behind them, and they turned around to see a man in glossy black armor resembling an insect’s exoskeleton. Insects infested his surroundings.
“Insectum! This territory belongs to us spirits! Return to your territory!” Ellaim shouted at the man in black armor.
Wang Chen thought, Insectum? Where have I heard that name... Gasp!
His eyes widened, and so did those of his comrades. The name was all too famous.
“The Tenth Fiend...”
“The Insect King?”
Their world was shattered once they realized they had no chance of survival. They had encountered a hurricane while on a stroll.
“You dare... Prepare for battle!” Ellaim commanded the water spirits.
The spirits endlessly poured out of the lake. Soon after, the deafening sounds of explosions filled the eastern third zone of Forestis. The birds flew away, and the land animals ran away.
A blonde girl in a red dress and patent leather shoes looked down at the lake from the sky.
— Hehe! Although I can’t be as stealthy as Ajingya, I’m not so bad either!
Her eyes, shining as if they contained the Milky Way, spun like a roulette wheel.
***
“Someone is targeting us,” said Grichuk, the leader of Clan Scavenger, as he bared his yellow teeth.
Four men and one woman, the leaders of their respective clans, surrounded him.
Grichuk continued, “Several clans have already been wiped out. This isn’t the work of Chaos—it’s the work of humans.”
The woman added, “Only Dark Humans were attacked. In other words, this is...”
“A trap!”
“Sons of bitches! They act all righteous and moral, then they pull something like this?”
“What more do you expect from the Union? Kehehe! So, what should we do?”
Grichuk smiled nastily and answered, “What else? We do what we do best.”
The clan leaders smiled as they stared at him. They were enjoying being hunted.
“I’ll kill them all.”
“Yahoo! It’s been a while since I’ve indulged in slaughter!”
“Hoho, leave the handsome men alive.”
“Kekeke! Murder feels as good as doing drugs. What if I do both? Man, it’s gonna be a wonderful day!”
Three days had passed since Seong-Hwi commenced Operation Pest Control. The Dark Humans who had been earning Karma in Subterra had noticed the enemies targeting them at last. They were both enraged and exhilarated.
“Tell the others. Let’s get this human slaughter started!”