Chapter 133: Star, The First Mission (8)

Baek Gyeo-Ul and First Lieutenant Park Hae-Seong simultaneously lowered their weapons from each other’s necks and exchanged identification cards. While Gyeo-Ul verified Hae-Seong was in fact a human and a soldier with his identification card, Hae-Seong was shocked upon checking Gyeo-Ul’s employee card.

“Team L of the White Tiger Clan?” Hae-Seong opened his eyes wide and looked at Gyeo-Ul. “Is that the team led by Mr. Lee Chang-Sun?”

“Yes…?” Gyeo-Ul tilted his head in confusion, wondering if the news of how Chang-Sun created Team L had gone public already. However, when Hae-Seong talked about Chang-Sun, he seemed glad, not curious.

“Is Mr. Lee Chang-Sun in this Dungeon too—!” Hae-Seong abruptly stopped talking and raised his head when the mine shaft shook hard, seemingly about to crumble down any second.

Rumble…

As stone dust dropped from the ceiling, Hae-Seong’s face hardened again. “Since you’re here as a rescue team, I would like to ask for the Team L members’ cooperation.”

Hae-Seong quickly explained the current situation: while he was serving in a military camp located near Hwacheon, the Council requested Hae-Seong’s help for the accident that happened inside the ‘Blue Jewel Island.’ In response, he came to the Dungeon and coincidentally found and rescued the survivors.

However, they ran into the Gray Elves as they escaped. He had a slim chance of winning against them, so they escaped to a safe place to catch his breath. He went to recon upon hearing a commotion outside, at which point he ran into the Team L members.

“With most of the mysterious elves missing, we’ve finally gotten our only chance to escape. We have many wounded, though, so we need your help.”

Gyeo-Ul, Shin Geum-Gyu, and Shin Eun-Seo exchanged glances, wondering what they should do. Chang-Sun, their leader, wasn’t around to help them decide what to do next. However, according to Hae-Seong, a small number of people survived. The L team members couldn’t just abandon them.

Gyeo-Ul quickly weighed whether to find Chang-Sun or rescue the survivors first.

『He wants you to go without him.』

At that moment, Gyeo-Ul received an unexpected telepathic message from Jin Prezia, whom he had run into in the Winter Palace.

『He also told you to be careful since there will be mayhem in this place.』

After delivering those messages, Jin was going to leave…

『How can I… trust you?』

… Gyeo-Ul sent a telepathic message right back to him, making him quite surprised.

‘Woah, he figured out my location, huh?’

Jin narrowed his eyes in the darkness.

He was aware that Gyeo-Ul always followed Chang-Sun like a shadow. Although Chang-Sun wasn’t his master, Gyeo-Ul was more blindly loyal to Chang-Sun than Jin, whose mind and soul were connected to Chang-Sun. Hence, although he didn’t show it, he had been looking down on Gyeo-Ul.

From his perspective, Gyeo-Ul was just a dog that begged for his owner’s attention and was incapable of thinking for himself, so Jin had never bothered to talk or become acquainted with Gyeo-Ul. However, it seemed Gyeo-Ul was more than just a loyal dog. He was still one, but being able to think for himself made a huge difference.

‘My so-called master certainly keeps all kinds of interesting people in his company. He’s surrounded by chaos,’?

Jin thought.

Laughing contentedly, Jin sent one more message before he left.

『Don’t trust me if you don’t want to.』

『Wait…!』

Gyeo-Ul hurriedly tried to stop Jin, but he was already long gone. He frowned at Jin’s irresponsible behavior, but he soon calmed down and turned to Hae-Seong. “Second Lieutenant Park.”

It was easy to verify whether Jin’s message could be trusted. If Chang-Sun was in this situation, how would he act?

“Where are the survivors?” Gyeo-Ul asked.

* * *

[Achievement unlocked!]

“The Embodiment of Destruction..”

Reward: Strength +5. Level increase for Skill ‘Black Mountain King’s Claws.’

[Successfully subdued the Boss Monster ‘Elfin Root’!]

Chang-Sun glared down at the Elfin Root, who was pinned down on the ground, the Nameless Spear embedded in its neck. It was severely wounded. Chang-Sun had used [Black Mountain King’s Claws] two consecutive times, nearly destroying its entire body. Even half of its head had been blown away. The only intact part of its body was its [Mana Core], which was practically its heart and brain. It was also the Dungeon Core Chang-Sun had to retrieve to complete the Dungeon Quest.

[The State ‘Himavat Breath’ has been terminated by force.]

[All of your states have returned to their original state.]

[45 % of your HP has been consumed.]

[61% of your mana has been consumed.]

…

[You have fallen into the ‘Exhausted’ state.]

[You have fallen into the ‘Anemia’ state.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ opens her eyes wide, saying the technique you just used was really cool.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ wonders about the mechanism of your technique because detonating one’s dormant power normally made them crazy, yet your technique doesn’t really seem to have such an aftereffect.]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ worries you might have become too tired.]

He felt dizzy for a moment but didn’t show it. Having only subdued the Elfin Root, it could try to recover again if he let his guard down.

[The Celestial ‘Geminus’ is watching your brilliant performance with deep interest.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ delightedly laughs and says you are definitely his subordinate, considering how you easily subdued your tricky opponent.]

On the other hand, Chang-Sun became furious at the ‘Geminus’ and Heoju, both of whom had fun watching him and the Elfin Root. How to find out what had happened to Kali while he was gone filled up his mind.

[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ wonders how you’re going to deal with the monster you subdued.]

Chang-Sun also wondered how he should interrogate the Elfin Root. Although he had already subdued it, he couldn’t freely ask it questions since the ‘Geminus’ and Heoju were watching them like hawks right now. He had to choose his questions carefully

The Elfin Root suddenly curled up one end of its mouth and let out a wind that clearly sounded like laughing. It was quiet since it didn’t have a vocal cord, but if it had a whole body, it would have burst into laughter.

‘What’s going on?’

Chang-Sun narrowed his eyes, unable to tell what the Elfin Root was doing.

He! Hehehehe! Hahahahaha!

Kikikikiki!

The laughing wind became louder over time. As if it really did burst into laughter, its head shook hard, and its remaining eye filled up with madness. At that moment, Chang-Sun came to a realization.

‘It’s not looking at me.’

With its pupilless eye, the Elfin Root was looking high up in the sky, not at the Dungeon. In fact, it was staring at the ‘eyes’ watching them from Heaven, which was located in a much higher place than the universe. The Elfin Root suddenly moved its lips, speaking only in appearance.

.

You filthy gods.

Your unholy and disgusting entertainment will soon come to an end.

Wait and see.

Our deceased goddess will reincarnate and kill all of you.

When she returns, the you feared so much and the will come for you!

As soon as it finished making a declaration, a shiver ran down Chang-Sun’s spine. “…!”

[The Skill ‘Beast Senses’ has been activated, warning you of the incoming danger!]

[The Skill ‘Viper Eyes’ has been activated, advising you to escape!]

He instinctively spread the Jigwi’s wings and distanced himself from the Elfin Root. Although doing so could allow it to recover again, he couldn’t care about it anymore since his instincts had warned him that he would fall into danger if he stayed close to it.

Boom!

Just as expected, the [Mana Core] inside the Elfin Root’s skull swiftly overheated and exploded, vaporizing everything within a radius of a couple of hundred meters. Simultaneously, a huge number of branches and vines were created out of thin air and spread in every direction.

[The Boss Monster ‘Elfin Root’ has died!]

[The Boss Monster ‘Elfin Toot’ has upgraded the ‘Parasitic Tree’ using its Divinity and the Dungeon Core ‘Mana Core.’]

[The wish of the Boss Monster ‘Elfin Root’ has transformed the ‘Parasitic Tree’ into a new kind of tree.]

Like awls, the sharp branches grew longer and longer, covering the ground and reducing the forest to complete ruins. The mine crumbled down, and the branches and vines swiftly covered the entire island. Chang-Sun wondered if Gyeo-Ul and the other team members were safe.

[The State ‘Strict Tiger’ has been changed into the State ‘Fierce Tiger’!]

[A firestorm rages!]

Retreating away as quickly as possible, Chang-Sun made the Jigwi’s Eon Fire bigger. However, the tree had already become fire-resistant, minimizing the damage it sustained. Its branches sprawled and tried to trap Chang-Sun in a wooden prison that they had made.

At the same time, dozens—no, hundreds of thick vines tangled with each other and soared up like the beanstalk of 《Jack and the Beanstalk》, which reached the sky overnight. Chang-Sun instantly realized what it was since it looked exactly like the tree he had seen countless times in Himavat the snow mountain, which was Kali’s divine ground!

‘The Divine Tree!’?

Chang-Sun clenched his fists.

The tree grew in a Dungeon, though, so it technically wasn’t the real World Tree. To be accurate, it was a ‘small’ World Tree seedling that had been replanted… The problem was that it had grown in this Dungeon.

[The Celestial ‘Geminus’ frowns while watching the Saha World with interest.]

[The Celestial ‘Geminus’ raises one of his eyebrows.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ sneers, saying a minion who does not know its place dares to provoke deities.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ says the lowly minion seems to be very interested in a certain Celestial, sneering at the Celestial.]

[The Celestial ‘Calamity Tiger’ watches the deformed mortal’s revolution with interest.]

[The Celestial ‘Geminus’ observes the mortal with cold eyes.]

‘Is it trying to get revenge?’

Chang-Sun reassembled his two short spears into a long spear and raised his head.

The Divine Tree was still soaring into the sky. The taller it became, the quicker the island’s big forest got devastated. The ground turned black and became parched, and Chang-Sun witnessed how quickly the once-calm ocean became shallow. It looked as if the Divine Tree was going to absorb the Dungeon’s every nourishment to reach Heaven, which was located very high.

[The new Boss Monster ‘Parasitic Divine Tree’ has been born!]

[A massive energy drain is happening all over the Dungeon.]

[Desertification is in progress.]

[Mana drain has begun.]

…

Before the Elfin Root died, it laughed maniacally and declared its deceased deity was going to resurrect and hasten the and . It meant Kali, the Elfin Root’s Guardian, had died, and it was because of the ‘Gemini.’ Otherwise, the Elfin Root wouldn’t have gotten enraged before its death.

‘Kali…!’

Chang-Sun clenched his teeth.

The worst scenario he could come up with had come true. After finding a possibility that something bad could have happened to Xerxes, he now heard that Kali had died, making him desperate to know what in the world happened after he went through the divine trial and to figure out if any of his other colleagues had gotten badly affected. With those questions driving him crazy, he fired up in anger.

Chang-Sun could now understand why Heoju and the ‘Geminus’ had fun watching what was going on in the Dungeon. The priest of the dead deity ran around trying to resurrect its Guardian, so it likely looked pathetic in their eyes. Unfortunately, Chang-Sun couldn’t afford to care about that now.

[The Boss Monster ‘Parasitic Divine Tree’ concluded that it would not be able to reach its destination using the energy inside the Dungeon alone.]

[The Boss Monster ‘Parasitic Divine Tree’ begins searching the surroundings for a new energy source.]

…

[The Boss Monster ‘Parasitic Divine Tree’ has found the Planet ‘Earth,’ the new server outside the Dungeon.]

[The Boss Monster ‘Parasitic Divine Tree‘ is spreading its root to the Planet ‘Earth.’]

[The Dungeon Break has begun!]

As the Parasitic Divine Tree grew, the content of the messages, which popped up before him, quickly changed.

[The Dungeon Quest has been updated!]

[Quest theme: Woodcutting.]

[The Parasitic Tree has started engulfing the ‘Blue Jewel Island’ using an abnormal method, quickly destroying the island and the ocean’s ecosystems. Once it’s done, it’s going to take over the outside world. Cut down the Parasitic Tree before that happens.]

[If you fail, a Dungeon Break will occur, and the Parasitic Tree’s roots will cover Earth.]

Chang-Sun clenched his teeth as he looked at the Dungeon’s interior, which was quickly turning into a wasteland. If a Dungeon Break actually occurred and the Parasitic Tree crawled out to Earth, then that would be the end of the planet. Since it was capable of healing itself, the Parasitic Divine Tree would definitely be a 1-Rank disaster. Aware of the Elfin Root’s goal, he had to somehow stop it from reaching the Earth.

‘Where is its [Mana Core]?’?

Chang-Sun wondered.

Dodging the branches, Chang-Sun activated [Viper Eyes] at its maximum output to figure out the Parasitic Divine Tree’s weak point. However, the tree was so big that it was difficult to locate its core. As a result, he had to change his perspective and find the [Mana Core]. Where would the Elfin Root hide its core?

[The Celestial ‘Geminus’ roars at the arrogant mortal.]

‘Sky!’

When a possible location of the Elfin Root’s core came to mind, Chang-Sun focused his gaze on the top of the Parasitic Divine Tree. However, even at this moment, the Parasitic Divine Tree was still becoming taller, making it impossible to see the top.

‘If everything happened because of me…!’?

Chang-Sun’s decision turned into determination.

‘I’ll make Kali’s priest mine.’