Chapter 130: Star, The First Mission (5)

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‘Something is happening.

’ Chang-Sun kept feeling nervous for some reason.

Although Chang-Sun was unsure why, something had happened to Xerxes, and it looked like Kali was in a similar state. Could this be a coincidence? There was no coincidence in this world. Chang-Sun instinctively felt someone with bad intentions was behind everything, and Heoju was related to this somehow.

Of course, those could just be mere speculations. These Gray Elves, who seemed to be the Divine Tree’s fruits, could be the fruits of a mutant Parasitic Tree that had similar characteristics as a Divine Tree, or maybe a part of Kali’s Divine Trees had been lost and coincidentally ended up in this Dungeon. Hence, he had to investigate this Parasitic Tree and its Gray Elves further.

‘It keeps bugging me,’?

Chang-Sun angrily thought. The fact that something was going on without him knowing made him so furious.

* * *

[You have entered the ‘Island’s Mana Ore Quarry.’]

The Team L members entered the mine. Its mine shaft was larger than most of the ones people knew of, and the miners had installed reinforcements to stabilize it. For that reason, it could likely withstand most impacts.

Before the team members entered the Dungeon, supervisor Kim Jae Gyeong told Chang-Sun about the location of the trapped miners. Chang-Sun led his team members to that location, following the mine railway on the ground. The deeper they went inside the mine, the more frequently the Gray Elves appeared.

The Gray Elves resisted much fiercer than before as well, so the team members couldn’t afford to be distracted. Over time, it also became much more difficult for Shin Geum-Gyu to continue using the Magical Core. He even had to drink several bottles of the expensive mana potion for it.

While they were tormentingly nervous…

『It looks like the Parasitic Tree is rooted in the deep part of the mine, so be prepared. 』

Chang-Sun sent a telepathic message to the Shin twins, causing them to hold their breaths. They didn’t answer Chang-Sun because they didn’t know where the Gray Elves were, so there was no reason to unnecessarily attract their attention. After some time, they reached the collapsed part of the mine shaft.

“… Please.”

Chang-Sun, who was in the lead, came to a halt and held up his left hand, sending a signal to his team members to stop. Wondering what was going on, they looked at Chang-Sun, who focused on the sound, with nervous faces.

[The Skill ‘Beast Senses’ has been activated, detecting a faint sound!]

“… I’m he… Sav…me!”

Although the voice was very faint, it was definitely a human asking for help.

『There is someone up ahead,』

Chang-Sun’s telepathic message caused his team members’ eyes to widen. Chang-Sun and his team picked up the pace. Following [Beast Senses], Chang-Sun turned right, then took the left path upon arriving at a crossroad. When he went back a bit, the rest of the team members finally heard the person’s voice.

Shortly after, the team members arrived at a vacant lot and found someone whose lower body was pinned under fallen boulders. Chang-Sun stopped, finding their vicinity too silent. He took a quick glance at the surroundings, looking for possible dangers. Meanwhile, when the survivor saw light, he delightedly shouted, “L-light…? A-are you a human?”

Shin Eun-Seo urgently shouted back, “Yes, we’re from the White Tiger Clan! We’re here! You’re safe!”

“Arggh! I’m saved, I’m saved! P-please save me! Please! Please move these freaking boulders…! Please! It hurts so much!” The survivor bawled in relief, perhaps thinking he had finally escaped death. His response was only natural, considering he had been helplessly waiting in this darkness for a rescue team he wasn’t even sure would come.

After asking Chang-Sun and Geum-Gyu to stand guard, Eun-Seo put her tower shield behind her back and ran toward the survivor to remove the boulders that were pinning the survivor down. The closer she got, the brighter the survivor became.

“Hey! Duck!” Geum-Gyu urgently shouted from behind.

Although Eun-Seo was not sure why, she instinctively ducked without asking for a reason. At that moment, a thick round shield cut through the air and flew right above Eun-Seo’s head. An explosion then took place, causing an earthquake that shook the shaft.

Boom!

Rumble, rumble―!

The massive earthquake made Eun-Seo wonder if the shaft was going to collapse again. As the numbingly loud explosion echoed throughout the shaft, Eun-Seo noticed bark-like fleshes falling from the sky. Looking up, her face hardened. Only a burning smell and scorch marks were left where the survivor had been lying flat on the ground. The survivor had been booby-trapped.

[The Player ‘Shin Geum-Gyu’ activated the Skill ‘Magical Lightning,’ raining down lightning on the enemies!]

At the same time, the Magical Core above Eun-Seo’s head quickly spun and continuously shot out lightning arrows.

Pzzzz!

With the explosion clearing out the rockslide, a group of ‘people,’ whose backs were connected to a tree’s branches, walked toward the team members like zombies. Those people were the miners who had gotten buried. The Parasitic Tree had already drained their bodily fluids and turned them into Undeads.

[‘Unidentifiable Undeads’ have appeared!]

Using [Magical Lightning], Geum-Gyu wiped out the Undeads without hesitation. Since the miners didn’t survive, the team members had to at least retrieve their bodies, but they couldn’t afford to do that right now.

Paah―!

Meanwhile, Chang-Sun sprang forward. Several Undeads and Gray Elves tried to stop him, but they weren’t Chang-Sun’s targets.

‘I found it!’?

Chang-Sun thought.

Although it was not clear as the mine was dark, something big was observing the fight while hiding behind the monsters. He was sure it was the ‘root’ of the Parasitic Tree.

[The State ‘Fierce Tiger’ has been activated, manifesting the Additional Skill ‘Fierce Tiger Charging’!]

𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Swoosh, swoosh, swish―!

Chang-Sun wanted the Nameless Saber and Round Shield for this kind of moment because there were no better weapons for charging toward the enemies like a bull. With the Nameless Round Shield, Chang-Sun could block the offense of the enemies that blindly attacked him, and he could take down those enemies using the Nameless Saber as if he was cleaning.

With nothing to stop Chang-Sun, the monsters in his way were shoved away and turned into bloody pulps. In the end, he swiftly reached his destination.

“…!” The leader, who had been hiding among the Gray Elf army and observing the fight, likely didn’t expect Chang-Sun to approach it, seeing as how its eyes widened.

[Found the Boss Monster “Elfin Root.’]

When the fully grown Parasitic Tree’s ‘root’ acquired an ego and was humanized, it became an Elfin Root, but it was the unusual wood crown on its head that caught Chang-Sun’s eyes. he was very familiar with it. After all, the [Goddess Crown], which Kali often wore, was similar to it! The Elfin Root opened its mouth and shouted something.

Although it had a body, it didn’t seem to have a vocal organ since it couldn’t actually speak, but it didn’t seem to have any problems giving out orders. The nearby Gray Elves simultaneously pounced at Chang-Sun, but he was quicker. He was already right before the Elfin Root.

Click!

[The State ‘Fierce Tiger’ has been changed into the State ‘Jackal Tiger,’ manifesting the Additional Skill ‘Jackal Tiger Hacks’!]

Chang-Sun let go of the Nameless Saber and Round Shield without hesitation and pulled out the two Nameless Batons from his waist. He then assembled them to make a long spear. The spearhead came out and released chillingly cold air since the [Everlasting Ice Crystal]’s energy was concentrated there the most.

Slash, slash, slash!

As Chang-Sun leaped forward with the Nameless Spear, he thrust his weapon so quickly it was as if he attacked with several spears, leaving many ‘scars’ in the air. The rough and cold wind raged over the Elfin Root.

Rumble―!

Boom!

[The boss raid has begun!]

* * *

“[Shield Attraction]!” Eun-Seo shouted and slammed her tower shield against the ground. Light instantly spread on the ground and turned into a dome-shaped transparent barrier. When a tank used this skill, they would sustain all the damage of the enemies' attacks. Hence, although it was important for them to be resilient, they also required strong willpower.

Boom, boom, boom!

The more attacks poured down on the team members, the redder Eun-Seo’s face became from withstanding so much damage. Just then…

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ is touched by your effort to save your colleagues from adversity, blessing you!]

[The barrier’s durability has increased.]

[The barrier’s radius has increased.]

…

Eun-Seo was a bit shocked when Minerva paid attention to her again.

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ is looking at you with a heartwarming smile!]

“Thank you, goddess!” Eun-Seo soon loudly answered and focused her power on her legs. “I’m gonna kill you all. Hiya!”

[The Player ‘Shin Eun-Seo’ has activated the Skill ‘Shield Attack’!]

As if she had turned into an actual tank, Eun-Seo held up her tower shield high and darted forward. The monsters, which happened to be running toward her, tried to stop her, but they were all flung back and turned into bloody pulps, let alone slowing Eun-Seo down. Whenever the halberd in her right hand danced, four monsters were crushed and slain. She was already a daring person, so when she activated [Tiger Kill] and [Tiger Disaster], she looked almost insane, continuing to laugh. “Hehehehe! Hehehehe!”

A wolf was weaving in and out of a group of sheep—no, an angry bull was trampling on the crowd.

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ tries to keep watching your fight elegantly.]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ is having trouble sitting still because she is firing up as she watches your fight!]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ clenches her fists, telling you to crush their limbs!]

…

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ is getting really excited!]

…

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ springs up from her seat and delightedly yells that that is how you should do it!]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ shouts that you should pulverize the enemies’ heads!]

…

[The other Celestials slowly move away from the ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ after seeing her new side.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ hiccups, thinking hard if she acted rudely in front of the ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ in the past.]

Boom! Boom, boom!

While the two women were hitting it off, Gyeo-Ul moved very quickly. Wearing [Shadow Armor], he swung his long spear, which was now dyed block, and delivered sharp and critical blows. Since he was mimicking Chang-Sun’s skills, he, Chang-Sun’s shadow, became exponentially stronger when Chang-Sun got stronger.

Boom, boom, boom!

Space would distort whenever Gyeo-Ul thrust his spear, and intense mana waves would spread in concentric circles. Whenever his spear had finally accumulated a significant amount of shadow, Gyeo-Ul would call his spear, Black Dragon Fang, and make it rip his selected target to pieces like a dragon’s fangs. Living up to its name, many Gray Elves got ripped to shreds every time Gyeo-Ul swung the Black Dragon Fang.

It seemed nothing could stop the Black Dragon Fang, whose yin energy had been amplified with the [Everlasting Ice Crystal]. When a monster aimed for Gyeo-Ul's neck, he easily parried its attack using the spear’s handle and pierced its stomach with the spearhead. At the same time, he turned like a top and cut off the head of the Gray Elf, which had tried to attack him using his blind spot. Witnessing that, the monsters shot arrows in his direction.

Boom―

Ting, ting, ting!

He stomped his foot and pulled up the shadow to create a wall, deflecting every arrow. With his shadow, he could both attack and defend at the same time. That was why Xerxes could become a supreme deity. Since Gyeo-Ul had also learned how to use weapons from Chang-Sun, his attacks’ damage was bound to be massive.

[The Player ‘Baek Gyeo-Ul’ is dominating!]

Thinking they couldn’t win against Gyeo-Ul, the Gray Elves’ faces hardened, and they began to retreat away. Of course, Gyeo-Ul wasn’t going to let that happen. He held his spear up high and slammed it against the ground, causing the shadow on the ground to undulate like a tsunami, storming all over the place.

[The Player ‘Baek Gyeo-Ul’ has activated the Skill ‘Shadow Tsunami’!]

Rumble―!

All the Gray Elves surrounding Gyeo-Ul got swept away by [Shadow Tsunami], causing them to flounder. Some drowned to death in the tsunami, while some were ripped to shreds by the shadow that turned rough after colliding against the mine shaft’s wall several times. A catastrophe had befallen the Gray Elves.

“…!”

“…!”

The jaws of Geum-Gyu and Eun-Seo, who had been using several skills to assist Gyeo-Ul, dropped. Although people didn’t notice it because Chang-Sun was beside him, Gyeo-Ul could no longer be considered an ‘ordinary’ Player. He showed no signs of happiness with his progress, however. In fact, he thought it was only natural that he could do this much because Chang-Sun was the only one who gave everything he had right now. If he couldn't do this much, he would always be a burden to him. Being able to move together with Chang-Sun and having his back as his shadow were Gyeo-Ul’s biggest wishes.

Woosh, woosh, woosh…!

“Next,” Gyeo-Ul quietly said, looking around the surrounding monsters. However, they couldn’t do anything anymore. The few remaining Gray Elves had frozen up and were sweating hard.

“…”

“…”

“…”

For a very short moment, a suffocating silence filled the shaft.

Paah!

Gyeo-Ul suddenly disappeared and showed up in a completely different location from where the Gray Elves appeared.

Boom!

Right beside the wall, which Gyeo-Ul had slammed against with the Black Dragon Fang, a man wearing a soldier uniform stood with a serious face. He pointed his sharply-edged sword at Gyeo-Ul’s throat.

The man seemed just as skilled as Gyeo-Ul.

“Who are you?” Gyeo-Ul asked, frowning intimidatingly.

The soldier’s face also hardened. He growled, “I'm First Lieutenant Park Hae-Seong, a B-Rank Player in the Military Security Support Command’s Awakened troop. I came to rescue the trapped miners after I received a request from the Council… but I got confined. I think that’s enough for an answer, so I’ll ask you this time.”

“Are you… human?” Hae-Seong sharply glared at Gyeo-Ul.