Ice-Flame Forest (1)
That day, he hunted monsters down.
Argh!
A colossal monster howled and set off a fire in front of them.
Standing at three meters tall, he had the head of an eagle and fiery wings.
Boom, boom, boom!
Fires and explosions filled the battlefield, destroying everything they touched.
Ruslan stared at him with cold eyes as he flew away from the attack.
[Race: Carura. Lv. 80]
There was no need to check with the Guideline.
He had been dealing with them several times already.
Turning on the Guideline was just an old habit.
“Kkkkkkk…”
With a strange smile, Ruslan held his sword.
It was an old, rusty sword.
It wasn’t the only thing that looked cheap about him.
His costume was also very shabby.
He wore a rag of cloth, not even a proper suit of armor.
If a stranger saw him, he would look nothing more than a bum.
“Hmm!”
With the old sword in hand, Ruslan flew away.
-Magic Swordsmanship: Fang of the Thunder Dragon!
A giant lightning dragon embroidered the air.
The old sword continuously threw up lightning and flames.
They continued to fight, letting their anger run in their veins as they ceaselessly battled in their deathmatches. They only had one goal, and that’s to end the life of the other.
Relentless tremendous sounds filled the tower.
The victor had finally been decided.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})‘Arghhhhhh…’
The demon, Carura, was chewed on by the Thunder Dragon, causing it to spill blood.
Its severed limbs swung in all directions.
It was a victory for Ruslan, a human.
Carura was a powerful monster, but not enough to beat him, a level 85 Magic Swordsman.
Looking at the monster, which had been turned into an ordinary piece of meat, he gulped.
He felt hungry.
He was getting hungrier.
How nice would it be if he could grill that meat well and eat it?
But Ruslan knew very well that he couldn’t.
The blood and flesh of monsters were severely poisonous.
He had seen many people who couldn’t stand hunger ate the monsters’ meat and suffered from severe pain for days.
What was even more terrible was that they didn’t die.
The pain lingered for what felt like forever.
“Oh, God, I could’ve eaten a novice devil dog…”
Defying temptation, Ruslan headed for the Carura’s body.
It was time to dig up the Spirit Stone of a level 80 monster.
It would be worth a few dozen gold coins to any guild in Latna.
However, the value of the Spirit Stone was just half a loaf of bread.
It was not even an entire loaf, but only half of it.
He pondered for a moment.
If he replaced that Spirit Stone with water instead of bread, he would get a full cup.
‘Bread or water?’
He didn’t think long.
He drank water yesterday, so that day was the time to satisfy his hunger.
‘It’s bread.’
After digging up the Spirit Stone, he slowly moved on.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"}) He walked nonstop in the endless giant tower.
How long did he walk?
Others were there.
Just like Ruslan, they wore ragged clothes.
Everyone moved toward one part of the tower.
The number of people was increasing.
There was a young man, a young woman, an old man, a middle-aged man, and an old woman.
People of all genders and ages were gathering in a large square, their eyes cold and dry.
As usual, Ruslan joined the group and headed for the square.
He was going to exchange that precious Spirit Stone for food.
Then he noticed something unusual.
The vast crystal stone located in the center of the square, and the Magic Swordsman, who exchanged the Spirit Stone for bread and water, were now emitting light images.
It was the image of a middle-aged man with blond hair.
“You Aliens.”
As the voice rang, the crowd in the square shrugged in terror.
Everyone there knew that middle-aged man.
It was one of the four strongest beings and the one keeping them at Akhtarun.
The image of Thunder King Garhan continued to talk.
“I’ll give you a chance.”
‘Opportunity?’
Ruslan wondered.
He didn’t know what opportunity he was talking about.
“It is an opportunity to purge away your sins and gain freedom.”
People began to roar.
They couldn’t figure out why Garhan suddenly thought of such an idea.
The question was solved when they heard the voice that followed.
“… Goddess of Darkness?”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"}) “Find the incarnation of the Goddess?”
Vitality began to come into the eyes of those who were as good as dead.
Their fighting spirits rose throughout the square.
“That means…”
“Is he saying he’s going to let us out of here?”
Hundreds of people on Earth looked at the massive door across the square.
The gateway to Akhtarun, the tunnel to the outer world blocked by the Thunder King Garhan, was right in front of them.
The indomitable seal, which countless people tried to break but failed to scratch, began to crack.
“It’s real…”
“It is…”
The people’s voices grew louder and louder.
The whole square shook.
Aura, mana, Prana, and Force.
The results of ‘XP’ accumulated over the decades flowed through life and madness.
Garhan’s voice followed.
“Find the incarnation of the Goddess.”
Amid all that chaos…
“Then bring her to me.”
The voice was strictly stuck in the minds of the people of Earth.
“Then I’ll send you back to Earth. It’s a promise I make in the name of Thunder King.”
Boom, boom…
The seal was finally broken.
The door opened.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
As they cheered, the Earthlings began to dash outside.
They could go out into the world.
They could meet people.
They could meet people, cut their throats, and once again enjoy the pleasures of stabbing blades into their hearts!
* * *
Tyaron city, the western gateway to Allendia, the Fairy Kingdom.
Thanks to her disguise as a Valtara warrior, Kibie was accepted as a human without any problems.
However, she had to find Baotolt, the Sword King, by heading to the Great Maze, Kaltan.
“The levels of you two are not high enough.”
Kibie clicked her tongue at the sight of Artis and Effir.
Currently, Artis was a level 60 Mage, and Effir was a level 61 Magic Swordsman.
They were eligible to enter the Four Prohibited Areas.
However, the Great Maze, Kaltan, was the most dangerous of all Four Prohibited Areas.
Unlike the other three, Kaltan’s admission requirement was at least 70 level.
“There’s no problem right now. Because Kibie and I are together.”
As Ryu Han-bin said, the two were strong enough, so even if they entered Kaltan, their power wouldn’t be insufficient.
“But we’re in a position where we can’t prove our level.”
The two, disguised as the Valtara warriors, were technically not Hunters.
They were ‘escort knights.’
It meant that they were there to help Hunter Artis and Effir attack the Dungeons.
Only when they could enter Kaltan could Ryu Han-bin and Kibie naturally enter as well.
Ryu Han-bin thought hard about it.
“Can’t you just let Kibie and I enter Kaltan after you’ve been tested separately?”
If they quickly overwhelmed an influential person above level 70, they could prove their skills even if they didn’t use measurement stones.
Artis shook his head.
“That would make the process too complicated. It’ll take a long time.”
The bigger the group, the slower their movement became.
They must first elect a powerful Hunter above level 70 from the guild and select a credible witness. They must then inform the upper ranks of the facts and wait for the results.
The entire process would take more than a few days.
Just go to the Kaltan Hunter Guild and beat up anyone strong…
-I’m strong, aren’t I? I’m going into the Great Maze.
-Oh, you’re strong. Yes, go ahead.
It sucked that they couldn’t do things his way.
“If it’s a waste of time anyway…”
Kibie grinned at Artis and Effir.
“It’s better just to raise the level of two people during the period.”
Ryu Han-bin was totally in agreement.
“With a steady and regular energy intake provided, you can get up to level 70 quickly.”
Of course, it would take many times longer to master.
“Let’s just scoop it up and master it while moving to Kaltan.”
A conclusion had been reached.
“Let’s level up first! The goal is level 70!”
Effir looked bored.
“Can I level up faster here?”
“You’ve been doing it all this time. Is there a problem?”
“It’s because my level goes up so fast that I’m scared.”
Artis sighed.
A few months ago, he was only a level 36 Mage.
“Haste makes waste. I’m so nervous that I’m already over 60…”
The same went for Effir.
She had been just a much lower-level Wyvern.
“Is this okay? I think it’s going to be a problem sooner or later.”
The beautiful black-haired woman shrugged then tapped the shoulders of the two anxious Dragons.
“It’s all right, I assure you.”
Usually, people would say why they could guarantee it, but that time, it was the Goddess of darkness who spoke, the creator of all of Latna’s Dragons.
“Oh, then…”
Artis and Effir were relieved.
“You’ll have a hard time getting old, but it won’t be a problem right now.”
“Wait!”
“You mean there’s a problem?”
“Don’t worry. Kybriel will do everything for you.”
“… Don’t address yourself in third-person, Kibie.”
Although still uneasy, both accepted their situation.
They then talked about the future.
“You’re not going to be able to level up any more around here, are you, Artis?”
“Yes, Kibie. We’ve already closed the Rengard Dungeon, the hardest Dungeon here.”
They had to be in the Four Prohibited Areas to make their energy boosts as efficient as possible.
Looking back at everyone, Ryu Han-bin grinned.
“Let’s get out of the house and go straight to the Ice-Flame Forest.”
* * *
Five days later, they were heading for the center of the Fairy Kingdom.
The wagon rattled along the road.
It was driven by two Golem steeds.
The black-haired beauty was sitting in the back seat.
She had a large cape over her Valtara attire.
“No matter how hard a warrior is, she doesn’t have to show her naked body when she’s not in battle.”
Ryu Han-bin was bitterly upset when he found out about it.
“Hold on, that means I didn’t have to keep my shirt off either!”
So why did Artis strip Han-bin all this time?
Kibie knew the answer.
“That’s what Baotolt told me because he always had his coat up. He was a man who couldn’t show off his muscles.”
“The legendary Sword King was a pervert…”
Still, it was good that Han-bin was able to wear a cape.
“I’m used to it. However, it’s stressful to walk around naked in front of others.”
After a while, they reached a large wall across the sparsely forested hillside.
Han-bin admired the scenery.
“Oh, have we arrived?”
Many wagons came and went under the walls.
Beyond that, a vast city that put Highten and Tyaron to shame boasted grandeur.
It was Serhithran, one of the prohibited cities in the Four Prohibited Areas, and governing the Ice-Flame Forest, Hithran.
