# 198
198. Black Seeds (6)
drop.
A drop of water fell from the tip of the stalactite.
I looked up. A faint light seeped in through a hole in the ceiling.
The temperature is cooler than expected.
You feel cold unless you are wearing clothes.
I sat on an overhanging rock in the corner of the common area and drank the potion.
Second bottle of this.
This has exhausted all of the recovery potions you have.
However, the throbbing pain emanating from the inside of his body was still there, probably because he had activated Exceed for a long time.
“…”
I looked to the side.
In the middle of the cavity, in front of the pine lake, Freea was sitting crouching.
“The contingent…”
“They must have been annihilated.”
I answered briefly.
There’s no use hiding the truth.
The Assinis army dispatched to Buyeo Island to retrieve the key was completely destroyed.
Delphine and other key executives were completely killed, and the troops in the camp were slaughtered without finding the center point. Now they are powerless.
‘It’s embarrassing.’
I brought the empty potion bottle to my mouth.
Somehow, the escape mission was a success. When I was scouting the camp, it was a big help to figure out the escape route in advance when making a plan at the accommodation.
Floating island Asrank has an underpass that is as wide as the ground.
One of the hundreds of entrances was on a cliff. However, the cliff where the cave was cut was steep, so I had to perform a cliff ride that was close to a feat thousands of meters in the air.
I put the potion bottle down.
Although the escape was successful, he could not return to the waiting room and the dimensional door did not open.
I was still trapped here.
‘Is it still a personal mission?’
I looked to the right of my field of vision.
The mission goal window floated up, empty where it should have been.
There were no floor numbers or goal notifications.
I’ve been through a few unknown missions so far, but it wasn’t to this extent.
Even the stage clear message didn’t come to mind. Now, I didn’t know what floor it was on or what type of mission it was.
what.
I chewed my lips.
Three boss-level entities appeared at the same time, and a fragment series of eggs that appeared only on the 80th floor or higher appeared. This is beyond the hardest level.
It’s safe to say that it’s already a bug.
‘Did he say he would jump over it?’
I remembered Persene’s remarks.
Jump over. Liberate all who suffer.
If the current situation was intentional, they were clearly irregular.
‘It’s a headache… It hurts.’
It didn’t get any better.
It is also impossible to call the members of the waiting room.
can’t even contact
It seems that the mission should proceed like this.
Consumables such as potions were not supplied.
‘Once…’
I grabbed my throbbing head.
I think I need to organize my to-dos and prioritize them.
I can’t afford to mess around.
Things would be much worse if the monster in the egg were to wake up.
Time was not on my side.
I synthesized the information I had heard from Delphine and Adele and from Fria.
I couldn’t see the mission window, but I was able to catch a rough target.
Collect the last key fragment somewhere underground and return the egg on the ground to its original place. The time limit is before the gnome hatches.
‘The problem is…’
that they can’t compete head-to-head.
It is difficult to guarantee the odds of winning even with one of the three.
It was fortunate that there were only bosses. They have thousands of soldiers under their command.
On the other hand, I… I couldn’t even call the members of the 1st party.
I’m sure they know the purpose of the mission.
That’s why it’s probably waiting for me at the right place instead of chasing after me right away.
Because it was me who was in a hurry.
“Whoa.”
A sigh comes out of nowhere
It’s been a while since I felt like this.
‘There’s no answer.’
No head-to-head competition.
Can’t even call support.
What do you mean?
Should I do a suicide special attack?
‘If at least there is a residual force…’
If there are survivors of the contingent, they can be used as bait and then infiltrated.
However, looking at the situation at the camp, the odds of survivors were close to zero.
The enemy force consists of thousands of well-trained soldiers and three monsters that exceed the standard.
And this side… only one 4-star hero and one non-combat NPC.
‘I don’t know what it would be like to see Amkena.’
If you connect in the evening, he should be able to grasp the situation.
How is the mission going?
After that, you can send a bug report to Mobius.
In my thesis, which analyzed hundreds of missions, there was not a single case like this.
‘impossible.’
My intuition as a master told me.
There is no chance that this mission will succeed.
‘Don’t fuck.’
I gritted my teeth.
So, are you going to die here?
When did you move based on the success rate?
“one.”
I looked away.
Pria’s shoulders narrowed as she crouched down in front of the lake.
“What should I do… would you like it?”
“…”
“If the contingent was wiped out, can you bring the key?”
“You should know.”
“I’m helpless. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t crouch down. It’s not over yet. Let’s do what we can.”
“…sorry.”
this is true
I approached Freya.
Freea was squatting with her knees clasped.
His small, white hand was shaking.
“I’ll leave, so stay still. If something happens, I’ll scream.”
“Where are you planning to go?”
“I need to eat.”
It is quite cold inside the cave.
It looked like it would need firewood.
Freea nodded slightly.
sereung.
I drew my sword halfway.
There are clear cracks on the blade.
A clone of Bifrost. It seems to have lost quite a bit in the course of the battle.
‘I can’t use this much either.’
clap.
I put my sword in and leaped to the top of a towering rock.
Climbing the protruding stones and stalactites, he jumped out through the hole in the ceiling.
A dense forest soon appeared.
The northwestern part of the floating island.
I decided to think about the back work later and do it one by one from the things I could do.
This mission will be a long game. In order to preserve our physical condition, we should start by making a camp where we can rest.
‘Find food and firewood.’
It’s not that difficult.
I held a handful of stones on the dirt floor.
Just then, I saw a rabbit trying to jump over a tree root.
After a while
I threw the net onto the floor.
The net contained two rabbits, a squirrel and a sparrow.
All dead or passed out.
The stretchable net was an item prepared before the start of the mission in preparation for a survival situation.
And my left arm was full of firewood.
I roughly covered the entrance with grass and entered the joint.
The firewood was piled up in a circle, then the wood was rubbed and lit.
I’m going to prepare for slaughter afterwards.
“I’ll help too.”
Freya has arrived.
“I can’t make them suffer alone. Shouldn’t we at least do this much?”
“…”
“Don’t worry. I’ve had quite a few camping experiences.”
Freea smiled and opened the mouth of the net.
if you will do it I handed Freea a sharp dagger.
puck!
Freea grabbed the rabbit by the throat with her familiar hand movements.
Immediately, blood began to flow from the rabbit’s neck.
‘Shall I try it too?’
I grabbed the sparrow by the wing and pulled it out.
This guy deflected the stone and didn’t die. I was just stunned.
I decided to stop breathing. He took out the dagger, held it in reverse, and grabbed it by the nape of his neck…
“…?”
The sparrow was trembling.
Paperweight! In an instant, the sparrow’s body jumped like a flying fish, and then black and red lightning flashed.
‘What is this?’
I was obviously stunned.
I pressed the scruff of the fluttering sparrow’s neck.
Next, the dagger…
[Wait! Don’t kill me!]
“…”
[Don’t kill me! It’s me!]
“Who is that?”
[This is the great ancient ruler, Halgion Siraos!]
“It’s a complicated name.”
I moved my dagger.
“Jaeaeaeaeek!”
The sparrow opened its eyes and freed itself from its clutches.
And it raised its wings as if threatening.
“Han, what’s going on?”
“never mind.”
“town!”
I plugged the sparrow’s beak and lifted it up.
I put the struggling guy on my side. I don’t think that’s what I’m talking about here. Because I have ears to hear.
I moved to the back of the communal pillar.
[This rudeness!]
When I put the sparrow on the ground, it swung its wings vigorously.
“I told you not to mess around.”
puck!
“Quack!”
A sparrow hit by a peanut rolled around.
[…Your dirty temper is still the same.]
“How did you get here? I never brought you here.”
I told Isel to keep an eye on him.
He must have been locked in a chicken coop inside the stable.
[Hey, do you think the clumsy of us can stop this body?]
“Stop messing around and tell me.”
[You can jump over it.]
“Explain in simple words, please.”
If this was an anomaly, it was an anomaly.
Because this guy was stuck in the waiting room.
[It means that the barrier between the tower and Taoni has become thinner.]
“…What do you mean?”
[Looks like you did it right.]
The sparrow chuckled.
[Originally, there is an insurmountable wall between the tower and this world. don’t you know Moebius, to which the tower belongs, is a higher dimension than Taoni. That’s why the flow of time is twisted and the incident is repeated many times.]
“…”
[It means that the gap has just narrowed.]
The gap has narrowed.
“You mean physically close?”
[You can think so. It’s not wrong.]
The sparrow nodded.
“Is that it?”
[No. Just as you heroes cannot escape the constraints of their mission, monsters cannot escape their fate. Because this place is designed that way. If it was originally.]
‘…If it was originally.’
The sparrow folded its wings and looked up at me.
[Whoops, it looks like you need my help.]
I couldn’t deny it.
Because I don’t know English.
[Aren’t you curious about why Taoneer’s difficulty is like this, why various bugs pop up in missions, and how boss-level objects jumped floors?] “….” [Hey, I’m here to tell you
that
. Taking the risk.]
“How do you know?”
[I was in the same place as them,]
said the sparrow.
[There is an area called Jade in the basement of the tower. Just like the Tower imprisons your heroes, the Jade confines the monsters. Monsters are bred there and summoned to the field whenever needed. It regenerates after death.]
Jade.
It was a term I had never heard of.
That there is another space in the basement of the waiting room.
But if you think about it, it must be where it should be.
If monsters are summoned to the field like heroes, they will need a place to stay somewhere.
[Jade is strictly divided into layers. Monsters upstairs can never go downstairs. And vice versa. It is a prison from which there is no escape.]
“…”
[This is a common feature of 100 million accounts in Mobius.]
I got up from my seat.
Behind her, Freea was grilling the meat.
I moved my steps to the side road in the corner of the common area.
‘Common rules of pick me up.’
Monsters are sacrifices for the hero to become stronger.
They cannot leave the designated area, and if they are normal monsters, they will revive several times even if they die.
Even if the exceptional names are revived, they will be eaten through Advent Dungeon.
Therefore, the mission of Pick Me Up takes the form of a subjugation battle.
There are several variations, but the goal anyway is to kill monsters to become stronger.
Unkillable or unreachable monsters never appear in missions.
I recalled the list of Taonier missions I had been through, one after another.
Certainly…
‘It’s strange.’
The Taoni language was out of order.
[I’ll tell you an old story.]
“Are you supposed to listen?”
[Of course. Because the answer is there.]
“Then tell me.”
I’ve come to a place where no light comes.
As soon as we sat down, the sparrow started talking.
[Originally, the Taoni language was not one.]
“…”
[It was just a chaotic space where the four dimensional borders were twisting and touching. The four dimensions are…]
“Halgion, Rantia, Assinis, Stenberg.”
[This is the correct answer. I am not, we were originally the rulers of each dimension.]
Siraos, the ruler of the sparrow Halgion, folded his wings and sat down on the ground.
His eyes were looking into the distance.
[We were all destined to perish. It was swallowing everything as the boundaries of the dimensions interlocked. I also had a bad relationship. Had it been left as it was, it would have been a war until only one side survived. The remaining side must have perished sooner or later.]
“…”
[At that time, a man appeared from inside the boundary line.]
Siraos continued.
[It was a common, insignificant, weak human male. He doesn’t even know where he came from or what he did.]
“…”
[He is the first emperor of the empire.]
The sparrow looked up at me.
[You also…smell the same as him.]