Chapter 187 – Demons’ Forest (2)

[The trial of the 22nd floor is beginning.]

[Trial: There has been a large problem in this port that faces the wide ocean. The attack of the Kraken…..]

The trial of the 22nd floor was very simple. It was catching the Kraken that appeared on the shores.

But the Kraken was a monster that was 70 meters long. It had 10 tentacles that could easily sweep things aside, and it had a toxic venom.

So a party of at least 30 was required to attack it, but…..

Boom!

The new Kraken that arrived on the shore experienced a splitting pain.

Kieeeeek!

The Kraken screamed in pain. It swung its tentacles around like a fly swatter trying to get the annoying fly-like creature in front of it, but the fly raised its sword like it had been waiting and cut its tentacles off.

A fountain of blood shot up and poured down on the pieces of the leg. The sand was already wet with the blood of the Kraken.

Normally, the Kraken was an object of fear to players because it was so big.

But right now, its size was its weakness because it was providing a better target for attack.

Yeon-woo soared through the sky with his Fire Wings, flinging Vigrid around. Watching the monster fall because of his Wave of Fire made him feel strangely satisfied.

The Kraken’s heart popped up in the air as its head and body were split apart. Its heart was about the size of a human’s head, which was smaller than he expected.

Yeon-woo used magic power to put the heart in his hand. The Kraken had a lot of magic power and health because it was so large. The heart could be a good material.

[All trials have been finished.]

[You have succeeded in dealing with the Kraken, the Emperor of the Ocean, through solo playing.]

[You have earned 15,000 Karma.]

[You have earned an additional 20,000 Karma.]

…..

[The earned Karma is being added to your total Karma.]

[Would you like to register your name in the hall of fame?]

[You have denied registering your name.]

…..

[The god of the sea, Poseidon, is showing interest in you. He is considering suggesting an apostle position to you.]

[An unknown god is expressing refusal.]

[An unknown god is expressing concern.]

[The demons are interested. They are having a deep discussion at someone’s suggestion.]

‘Poseidon?’

After he visited the Olympus Treasury, Yeon-woo didn’t have that much contact with Olympus. Sometimes, he saw messages from Hermes or Athena.

However, this was the first time he saw a message from one of the top-tiered gods of Olympus like Poseidon.

Was it because he got one of the highest ranking sea monsters, the Kraken?

But like always, under the messages that the gods were interested, there were messages about concern from the opposing side, and there was something about the demons having a discussion.

He didn’t normally care about this stuff, but anyone would look twice at it if these messages kept on popping up.

Just who were these gods and demons?

‘Although it doesn’t matter.’

Since he didn’t plan on accepting whatever offer they gave.

And right now, he had to quickly move on to the 23rd floor. He was worried that Brahm disappeared.

Yeon-woo slid all the messages down and activated the green portal.

[This is the 23rd floor, gate of the Demons’ Forest.]

The new location he arrived at was a cliff. The wide sky filled his eyes.

It was completely different from the different skies of floors that Yeon-woo had seen so far. It wasn’t the color of a beautiful sunset, but a color that gave a frightening impression of blood.

Yeon-woo looked back down. Under the sky, there was a vast forest. It was definitely creepy.

And with his Draconic Eyes, he could see different energies and ghosts.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Souls were wrapped around the forest like a spider web, and half invisible ghosts were wandering around.

[The trial of the 23rd floor is beginning.]

[Trial: Unlike the demons that are powerful enough for the gods to feel threatened, their ancestors were born in an abandoned unknown land that no one knows.

Their world always had a red sky because light never properly entered, and it didn’t rain for hundreds of years, drying up the land.

It seems like a land where nothing can live, but even here, they are mysterious living beings that have evolved.

The Demon Tree births babies from the energy in this world.

Survive from the attacks of the greedy Demon Trees and their starving babies. The more Demon Trees and babies you kill, the more advantageous it will be for your survival.]

Like how the Draconic species widely covered beings like dragonias and wyverns, although they were completely different, the demons on the 98th floor couldn’t be compared to their ancestors.

No, to be exact, although the demons on the 98th floor had started off from a low level, after fighting and predation, they were able to be Devil Kings and Devil Dukes.

They had power that didn’t fall short of a god’s, and they were the cause of the extinction of the Draconic species a long time ago.

But the demons here on the 23rd floor were different.

They were born from the fruit of the tree called the ‘Demon Tree,’ and they lived according to instinct.

At this point, their level of intelligence was lower than a monster’s, and the demons hated being compared to them.

I think the phrase ‘A frog can’t remember when it was a tadpole’ best describes the demons.

The things that the demons called the Demonic species was an image that the demons hated. They were clumps of minus energy that didn’t have any intelligence.

They were organized into species like phantoms or ghosts for convenience, but it wasn’t like they were similar physically.

Instead, they were true to their instinct. Their instinct to eat. They tried to eat whatever came in their path, and they didn’t even care if it was the same species as them.

However, after they kept on eating, they seemed to wake up some part of them. From then, they could think for themselves, and feel emotions. Then, they wanted something once they felt greed. Whether it skills, power, or strength.

Soon, they became demons, then Devil Dukes, or Devil Kings.

Eating whatever came way might’ve been their way of survival.

That was why the Draconic species, who loved intelligence and logic, hated them.

But even that aside, the 23rd floor where the Demonic species lived shouldn’t be looked down upon.

Yeon-woo thought of the record of the 23rd floor that was on the diary and remembered the hidden pieces he could get from here.

‘It was probably the purple Devil Flower and the Ceratopsian Dinosaur of the De Roy Lake, right?’

Before the Demon Tree bore fruit, it grew a strong scented Devil Flower.

All the flowers were called Devil Flowers for convenience, but their traits and forms were actually different. There were ones that had pleasant scents, and ones that were like Venus flytraps, having a solution inside of them.

Of those, what Yeon-woo was looking for was the purple Devil Flower.

It was so rare that it wasn’t well known to the public, but it was a flower that birthed higher ranking Demonic species. That was how good the demonic energy inside of it was.

And De Roy Lake was the lake in the center of the Demons’ Forest. He heard it was pretty big, but Yeon-woo couldn’t see it from where he was.

The Ceratopsian Dinosaur living in the lake was as hard to catch as the Kraken. No, it was harder, but its Neidan was very useful.

‘If I combine the Devil Flower and the Neidan of the Ceratopsian Dinosaur, it’ll make a nice elixir. I’ll be able to raise the level of my magic power.’

Yeon-woo already had a lot of magic power. So he didn’t need any more. What he needed was the growth of its level.

The Mythical Energy that his brother had learned from Bayluk would probably be of help. However, the problem was that it would be focused on evil or dark properties.

‘But that’s actually better for me. Since my personality is tilting more towards the evil property side.’

Yeon-woo slowly organized his thoughts and left the start zone.

Actually, even while he was going over these things, there was something else his mind was on.

‘The Philosopher’s Stone.’

The Alchemist Brahm had been staying on the 23rd floor for a while now. The reason was not known. As much as he was a free-spirit, he probably had a reason for doing things.

‘The problem is how to find him.’

Night Watch had said that Brahm suddenly hid his location. Because of that, Yeon-woo hadn’t been able to find hidden pieces of the 22nd floor and rushed to get here right after the trial.

‘They said a lot of people were looking for Brahm these days.’

People looked for Brahm? The guy with no friends and only enemies?

It was suspicious.

‘I’ll head over to where he’s staying first.’

Yeon-woo moved towards the coordinates that the Night Watch gave him.

***

Fortunately, the location of the coordinates wasn’t that far off from the De Roy Lake.

The further he went in, the trees covered his view of the red sky.

And the air was tart. Health and magic power levels would be decreased at a faster rate. People whose powers tilted towards the godly property would probably suffer quite a lot.

On the other hand…..

[Wahaahaha! This place is so nice! Was the 23rd floor always this refreshing?]

[That’s probably because we’re different. It feels breezy.]

Hanryeong and Shanon had left the shadows to look around. Because normal players didn’t try to head towards where the lake was, they could freely roam around.

It was painful to living beings, but to them, it was the perfect location. Even the Portents were running around.

Also…..

Kiaaa!

Kyakya! Kruk! Krrruk!

The Demonic species and ghosts were being eaten by the Portents. The predator had turned into prey.

So to the Portents, this was like a buffet.

[‘Boo’ has consumed Phantom21. His demonic property has increased by 2.]

[‘Chan’ has gobbled up Spirit99. His demonic property has increased by 5.]

…..

Thanks to that, Yeon-woo was taking a light walk while the Portents were becoming stronger.

Rebecca was looking at them with her arms crossed, dissatisfied. For a spirit with holy power, it was a bit uncomfortable.

However, when they arrived at their destination, their freedom was taken away.

[Hm? This is?]

[…..How unlucky.]

Shanon and Hanryeong spoke in annoyed voices.

There was a holy and pure energy not fitting of the Demons’ Forest from the lakeshore.

‘Elohim?’

The Elohim frequently emanated this strength, saying that people who joined them had to have at least this much power.

But the Elohim and Brahm didn’t get along. Why were the Elohim felt here?

Yeon-woo took everyone back into his shadow and climbed to the highest tree to look down.

There was a small cottage next to the lake with a field next to it.

Around it, there was a blond High Elf with ashy wings and 9 other Superior species that were hard to see in the Tower.

However, there was someone who stood out the most. Yeon-woo was shocked.

‘What is that guy doing here?’

Someone with silky red hair and black eyes without any whites. His clear skin showed his blue blood.

They were all characteristics of the Protogenoi species.

The Protogenoi were originally a part of the godly species, but they were species who had lost their holiness and fell to the lower floors.

Because of that, they were in high positions in the Elohim, and they didn’t go outside a lot.

But to think that guy would be on the 23rd floor, where he hated the most.

Also, it was a face familiar to Yeon-woo.

One of the highest consuls who ruled Elohim, Aether of Light.

And he had also been a member of Arthia.

When he first met Aether, it wasn’t too long after I started climbing the Tower. I think it was the 11th floor.

Yeon-woo pressed down his sudden anger that was boiling up, and he tried to observe the situation as calmly as possible.

Why was that person looking for Brahm?

Other than the kind of person Aether was, the Elohim were enemies with Brahm. If they were looking for Brahm, it meant that there was something big happening.

Just when he lowered his body thinking that he needed to continue watching the situation…..

Swish—

Someone quickly popped out from the forest and fired arrows at the players.

He couldn’t see who it was, but once he checked with his Extrasensory Perception, his eyes became bigger.

‘Galliard?’