Chapter 29
[5 days remain until termination of the mandatory quest.]
Shin Jun mumbled as he read the Akasha Message, “We’ve been here for twenty-five days already.”
Ho-Geun looked up at the crescent moon and replied, “Dammit, it’s hard to tell the time because it’s always night here.”
“Huuu, twenty-five days, huh? It feels like it’s been a year,” Min-Jae remarked and sighed.
The others agreed. They had gone through much in the past twenty-five days. If there were a limit to what one could experience in life, they would have filled the bar to the brim. If their life on Earth had been an endless cycle of the same boring day, each day in the Dark Forest would be unforgettable. People paradoxically felt more alive here than on Earth, possibly proving that the density of events was more important than the length of one’s life.
Four days had passed since Jun and the others separated from Seong-Hwi. They were passing through the fourth zone and were almost at the fifth.
“Five days, huh? We’re not too late, are we?” Seung-Jun wondered.
Jun answered, “It should be okay. We didn’t see many traces of people on our way here.”
“Tsk, we could’ve gotten here a day earlier if it weren’t for a certain someone,” Seung-Jun clicked his tongue and looked back.
Hwa-Yeon was being carried by Seong-Tae. She had injured her leg in their battle against a Pirupiko.
“Enough, Kim Seung-Jun. She was injured because she faced it before anyone else,” Ho-Geun said, taking Hwa-Yeon’s side.
Seung-Jun pouted and mumbled, “The unskilled should just stay at the back.”
“Didn’t I just tell you to stop?”
“Okay, okay.”
Their conversation traveled through the silence of the Dark Forest and into Hwa-Yeon’s ears. She gritted her teeth.
What did I do that was so wrong?!
If luck were a skill, then she was certainly unskilled. She obtained a spear as an item, but her luck in skills was still terrible. She only got useless ones, such as Small Steps and Dextrous Hands.
Hwa-Yeon used to be outgoing, but slowly repressed her personality the more she realized she was useless to the team. She used to tease Seong-Tae and play with the kids, but began to keep her distance from them one day, which made it harder for them to approach her.
She was afraid because her presence on the team was becoming faint, and that fear only amplified the more her teammates stood out.
Two of them have already established rules for their D Weapons.
Surprisingly, the fifteen-year-old Ha Rin was the first to set a rule for her D Weapon. She was walking at the very front, and if one took a closer look, they would notice that her nose resembled a Yorkshire Terrier’s. She had added a unique skill to her transformation D Weapon.
The other was Namgung Min-Jae, who became as strong as Ho-Geun, the strongest on their team, after making a rule for his D Weapon.
What about me? What the hell is up with my D Weapon?! This goddamn compact! Am I supposed to apply makeup with this or something? Fuck!
Hwa-Yeon clenched her fists as she was reminded of her memories on Earth. She was being piggybacked by Seong-Tae and had squeezed his shoulders by accident.
“Ah,” she belatedly noticed and loosened her grip.
Although she had fallen behind the rest of her teammates, her strength was still nowhere near human levels. However, Seong-Tae didn’t say a word and kept his eyes forward, pretending nothing happened.
Is he being considerate?
However, it only worsened her mood.
“Let me down,” she said.
“What? You’re not fully better yet.”
“Put me down!” Hwa-Yeon shouted, trying to hide her trembling tone due to the tears.
Seong-Tae let Hwa-Yeon down in silence. She walked quickly with a limp to keep up with her teammates. Seong-Tae followed behind her.
***
Jun and the others received an Akasha Message once they arrived at the fifth zone.
[There are 100 Teleport Rocks.]
[The locations of the Teleport Rocks are indicated by a pillar of light.]
[A Fallen Knight of the race Chaos guards each Teleport Rock.]
[To obtain the Teleport Rock, one must either defeat the Fallen Knight or give one live offering to the sacrificial altar.]
[Once time is up, the Judge will judge all lifeforms remaining in the Dark Forest.]
[Remaining Teleport Rocks: 98]
[Time Remaining: 115:23:12]
***
Seong-Hwi tested his stats, which were upgraded to E-rank.
Kyeeeh!
A Skin Pirupiko fled through the air with its dragonfly wings. Its expression was difficult to distinguish because it had no eyes or nose, but it was likely in fear.
Kyeeeh?
An invisible snare hidden in the air suddenly caught the Pirupiko’s leg, and the Pirupiko was hung upside down. It was the Waiting Trap, one of the symbols of No.3 The Hunter.
A card was selected from the tarot deck as Seong-Hwi chased the Pirupiko. It depicted a man sitting on a throne decorated with the head of a ram. He was wearing an extravagant crown covered in rubies and diamonds. In his right hand was a scepter shaped like an ankh, and in his left was an orb as red as a ruby. He was wearing steel armor underneath his red clothes, exuding majesty.
[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]
[Majestic Scepter, one of the symbols of No.4 The Emperor]
The golden ankh scepter in the man’s right hand appeared in Seong-Hwi’s hand. Seong-Hwi pointed the Majestic Scepter at the Pirupiko struggling to escape the trap.
“Hurt yourself,” he commanded.
The scepter and Seong-Hwi’s eyes glowed gold simultaneously. No.4 The Emperor was one of the Major Cards, symbolizing domination, majesty, authority, independence, tenacity, ambition, and indomitability. Among them, the Majestic Scepter symbolized domination, and it possessed a manipulation ability.
Kyeeeh!
The Pirupiko’s instinct to live contradicted the forced magic command. It began to dig into itself under its belly button with its hook-like hand. The corrupted fairy’s stomach split open, spewing black blood everywhere.
“Rip out your os and give it to me,” Seong-Hwi added another command.
The golden light in his eyes grew stronger, and his hand holding the scepter subtly trembled.
Kyeeeh... Kyeeh!
The Pirupiko, about to rip out a black orb the size of a pebble, suddenly stopped and charged toward Seong-Hwi.
“Tsk, I guess this is the limit.”
For the Majestic Scepter to exert complete control, the target must be garbage with no magical resistance, or his Magic stat must be at least C-rank. However, the experiment was fruitful since Seong-Hwi confirmed he could use it to an extent.
[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]
[Two of Wands]
A card depicted a man standing on a rampart holding a globe with two red wands next to him. The two summoned red wands connected in series and became a flaming spear, piercing the Pirupiko. It couldn’t handle the explosive firepower of the Two of Wands, doubling that of the Ace of Wands, and was reduced to ashes.
“Huuu,” Seong-Hwi exhaled.
His body could now handle two symbols simultaneously, embodied with his upgraded Magic and Destiny Force.
[21 Karma obtained.]
[Progress: 100 / 100]
[Trait Quest: Pursuer of Chaos IV, complete.]
[1,000 Karma obtained.]
[Converting Trait Chaos Slaughterer to Chaos Destroyer.]
[Commencing Trait Quest: Pursuer of Chaos V.]
...
[Chaos Destroyer (Trait)
Rank: F(0)
Description: The tenacity of a destroyer who resents the Chaos more than anyone. 40% boost in attack for a set duration against the race Chaos.
Duration: 20 seconds
Cooldown: 48 hours]
...
[Pursuer of Chaos V (Trait Quest)
Rank: D+
Description: The final quest of the chain.
Condition 1. Hunt one Fallen Knight of the race Chaos in the Dark Forest.
Condition 2. Hunt one Demon Knight of the race Chaos in the Dark Forest.
Fallen Knight: 0 / 1
Demon Knight: 0 / 1]
...
Seong-Hwi couldn’t help but chuckle as he read the Akasha Messages. First, the trait was upgraded to Chaos Destroyer. Although it only applied to the Chaos, it boosted his attack by forty percent. Its duration was reduced to twenty seconds, and its cooldown increased to forty-eight hours.
On top of that, the final quest of the chain, Pursuer of Chaos V, had two conditions. One was hunting a Fallen Knight, and the other was hunting a Demon Knight.
“Looks like he was right. The Judge is a Demon Knight,” Seong-Hwi mumbled.
He recalled what Enrique Vidal, a man from Ibiza known as the Explorer King, once said to him.
“Seong-Hwi. Do you know which Chaos the Judge from the mandatory quest is?”
“What? How am I supposed to know? If you saw the Judge, it means you failed to get a Teleport Rock and died.”
“Hehe, who do you think I am? A free soul who enjoys thrills and adventure! I got a Teleport Rock, but didn’t go to the Mirror World immediately. I stayed in the Dark Forest because I was curious about which Chaos monster the Judge was.”
“Hah! Crazy bastard. That curiosity of yours will get you killed one day.”
“Really? Then I suppose you’re not curious about which Chaos the Judge is, since you have no curiosity. I’ll just stay quiet.”
𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞
Seong-Hwi kept silent momentarily and asked, “What... was it?”
“Kekek! You’re curious, huh? Don’t be shocked. A Lapang-rank Demon Knight! I had no idea what it was back then, so I got the hell out of there with my Teleport Rock.”
“That’s insane.”
“Yeah, it sure is. People who think their comrades or families left behind in the Dark Forest are surviving there are idiots. After all, there’s no way a newbie could survive against that thing.”
The Fallen Knight was a Shen-rank Chaos, the corrupted form of a Death Knight, an undead. Although they were as powerful as one would expect from an Armed Chaos, even newbies could defeat it if they worked together. However, a Demon Knight was on another level entirely—the only thing similar between it and a Fallen Knight was their names.
A Demon Knight, as one would expect from its name, was the corrupted form of a knight of the demon race. According to the Chaos classification system created by the Second Fiend Curiositas, a Lapang-rank Chaos could use Chaos Mana. A Shen-rank Demon Knight was despairing enough, but it was nearly impossible for anyone in the Dark Forest to survive an encounter with a Lapang-rank one.
That’s why the quest rank is D+. It skipped the E-rank entirely. It was never meant to be cleared.
The Mad Dog of Moscow was the only one to discover this quest chain in the Dark Forest, and not even he completed half of it. In other words, no one knew what rewards would be given by completing every quest in the chain.
The trait upgrade is a given. What will I get for completing the entire quest chain?
High risk, high return—an absolute principle in the Mirror World, the same as D Weapon rules. Seong-Hwi’s heart pounded rapidly. Declining the quest was not even an option in his head. A Lapang-rank Demon Knight that could use Chaos Mana was monstrous enough to appear as a boss in an E-rank dungeon. Although Seong-Hwi was getting rapidly stronger, the Death Knight was still several times stronger than him. He would have to risk his life against it.
Yeah, this is more like it! It’s been far too comfortable so far.
Seong-Hwi smiled, relishing in the anxiety and pressure.
Kill, or be killed. What a simple proposition.
Overcoming the Death Knight would earn him incredible rewards. If he died, it simply meant he was not even worthy of facing enemies far stronger than the Death Knight in the Mirror World. Hence, he would be better off dying.
I don’t plan on dying, though.
***
“Hmmm.”
“It looks extremely dangerous.”
“One, two, three, four... eight in total.”
Jun’s team had been heading to the center of the Dark Forest once they arrived at the fifth zone and heard the Akasha Messages. They noticed white pillars of light suddenly surging from the north and cautiously headed toward them. They arrived to see an altar made of stone and a Fallen Knight wearing black armor standing behind it like a statue. The white pillar of light was coming from the Fallen Knight’s head.
[Fallen Knight of the race Chaos, discovered.]
[Place a live offering on the sacrificial altar and take their life.]
[The Fallen Knight will be annihilated once the offering’s life is taken, leaving a Teleport Rock.]
[If you do not wish to sacrifice anyone, defeat the Fallen Knight.]
The team gulped as they received the Akasha Messages.
“That Fallen Knight is dangerous. It looks a hundred times more dangerous than the Pirupikos,” said Min-Jae, whose Sense stat was the highest in the team, as he clenched his fists under the intense pressure.
“I can tell just by looking at it,” Ho-Geun said as he stared at the eight corpses around the altar.
A team seemed to have faced the Fallen Knight and was defeated before Jun and the others arrived.
“A live offering, huh?” Seung-Jun mumbled with a smile.
Seong-Tae clenched his shield and sword and shouted, “Hah! What do they think we are?! A live offering? Fuck that! They can shove the idea up their fucking asses!”
“Kekeke! You’re crazy, but you’re right,” Ho-Geun agreed and tightened his grip on his sledgehammer.
Ho-Geun, Seong-Tae, Seung-Jun, Ye-Ji, Hee-Gyeong, Do-Hyun, Rin, Min-Jae, and Hwa-Yeon readied their weapons and looked to Jun.
Jun nodded and said, “We will all... go to the Mirror World together!”
It did not matter whether the Mirror World was paradise or hell—they would simply advance.