◈ Episode 151. Seed of Tears (2)
Grandfell’s brazenness definitely helped me keep my composure.
If it hadn’t been for that, I probably would have been quite surprised. [Dungeon], even though I was mentally prepared, I thought to myself, it’s fucking insane from the very start. ‘As expected, just as the rumors said.’ There wasn’t even time to realize it was a trap.
No, perhaps it’s more accurate to say there wasn’t even time to trigger the trap?
Because all the players, including me and Syureigeu, had done was take a few steps into the rain and fog. If so, there was only one possibility to consider.
Syureigeu glared up at London overhead and muttered.
“So breaking through the trap is the beginning?”
Well, he seemed surprised, but he didn’t look taken aback.
He must be thinking this is the kind of thing that can happen in a dungeon.
Truly, befitting of a veteran.
In that sense, it was fortunate.
“Syureigeu.”
“Yes, I’m listening.”
“As one well-acquainted with the geography of this place, what do you think?”
As for me, I was at the level of playing spot the difference.
Since I didn’t know London very well.
Nod— Syureigeu immediately answered in a voice full of conviction.
“It’s exactly as I said. Except for the fact that there are citizens over there in London. And as you noticed, it seems what you said about falling into a trap is correct as well.”
Syureigeu bit his lower lip.
“Whether it’s that side, or this side. It’s someone.”
He must still be thinking this was a stage where certainty was impossible.
Soon, Syureigeu gave orders to the guild members.
“Explorers, begin analyzing the trap structure! The remaining players are to protect the explorers in preparation for any potential attacks.”
Indeed, this was Second Sun, a world-class guild. They must have Explorer-class players they had cultivated themselves, without relying on the Explorer’s Alliance.
However.
“This is driving me crazy. What, is there even a trap like this?”
Recommended level: minimum 600, maximum 900 dungeon rift. ‘It’s not that the explorers are insufficient.’ Even if Fabien, the head of the Explorer’s Alliance, came, it would be hard to see through this trap in a short time.
But as I said, there was no need to worry.
I looked at Haiel flapping about in the London opposite us.
“When there is a time to clash head-on, there is also a time to let it flow.”
Shhhhhh—!
Somehow the tone I uttered was quite grandiose.
If someone were to ask what I meant.
It simply meant I would use the pouring rain as nutrients for a plant. ‘Please, I wish this muttering would be buried by the sound of the rain…….’ I prayed earnestly in my heart, but.
“……
Yes? Did you say something?”
Syureigeu had managed to hear it after all.
Damned manners.
I had no choice but to answer such a polite question.
“Watch and see, Syureigeu. You’ll understand soon.”
“……?”
Syureigeu’s pupils followed my gaze.
Haiel’s presence goes without saying.
Realizing, Syureigeu stammered in confusion.
“Haiel? Isn’t that Player Lee Hoyeol’s contracted spirit? No way……! Did you see through the trap’s existence via spirit summon? As expected, truly amaz……! Wait, what’s that?”
Another London reflected in the sky.
Something extending down from that sky.
That something was a ‘root’.
Yes, the root of a plant that uses water as nutrients. [Pentacle of Pure Knowledge]
This is helpful too.
It was thanks to the item’s effect.
I shamelessly spoke as if I had known from the very beginning.
“Do you remember the summer of the Arcana Continent?”
Silence from all— Why the sudden nostalgia trip?
They looked bewildered.
As expected, only Syureigeu played along.
“It differs by region, but summers in southern regions like Hesiyas were truly fantastical. Once it started raining, it wouldn’t stop, as if there was a hole in the sky. Just like right now.”
Thank you for playing along with my babbling, Syureigeu.
I felt like giving you ten gold stars.
Because it was an exceptionally appropriate answer.
“Correct, Syureigeu.”
“Yes, correct, you say?”
“Have you ever seen Hesiyas submerged in water?”
“……
No. Not in my memory. What about you all?”
Heads shaking left and right— The players looked at each other and shook their heads.
Not content with suddenly bringing up summers on the Arcana Continent.
Why did I mention the southern city, Hesiyas?
Because that root belongs to a plant that only grows in Hesiyas. ‘Aquarius Oak.’
Because it was the root of that Aquarius Oak.
For a fleeting moment, Syureigeu was deep in anguish.
“……
Now that I think about it after hearing you, it’s strange. Hesiyas isn’t a highland, and it wouldn’t have a drainage system like the Imperial Capital. How did it not get submerged?”
I spoke nonchalantly.
“That is precisely the power of {Nature}.” [Pentacle of Pure Knowledge]
Knowledge of the Aquarius Oak surfacing in my mind through the item’s effect. That’s right. The Aquarius Oak was a plant where each individual tree grew by taking enormous amounts of water as nutrients. ‘There’s a reason it only grows in Hesiyas.’ Because in the entire Empire, there was no other place that received such rainfall.
In that sense, Haiel was truly my other self and mirror…….
No, it was befitting of a contracted spirit. ‘You understand even without me having to spell it out, Haiel.’ Having risen in rank to a unique spirit and awakened the {Nature} ability.
Haiel, who had become capable of controlling the life of plants.
As long as mana supported it, making plants grow was nothing.
It meant it wasn’t difficult.
“Wait, Syureigeu. What’s that?”
Syureigeu, who had been mulling over my words, finally turned his head at a guild member’s call. And realized. The root of the Aquarius Oak extending down from the sky.
Syureigeu looked at me in disbelief.
“……
No way, by the power of nature you spoke of?!”
Instead of answering, I nodded.
Another phrase I was using again: seeing is believing.
Right now, watching would be easier to understand than a hundred words.
This was no ordinary Aquarius Oak.
A unique spirit, no less.
An Aquarius Oak blessed by Haiel.
Moreover, the water serving as nutrients was abundant beyond measure.
Soon.
Sshhh— The oak began growing at a frightening speed!
“S-Syureigeu! The tree! Suddenly roots from the sky, a tree!!”
By the way, Haiel……
Who did you take after, liking such flashy things so much?
You’re really using the {Nature} ability, permitted after so long, with all your might. As if planting street trees. Aquarius Oaks taking root throughout the streets of London. ‘No matter how much my mana efficiency has increased thanks to the [Pentacle of Pure Knowledge], there’s a limit.’ I was worried whether my mana would be able to sustain this……
Strange?
For some reason, I couldn’t feel any mana consumption at all.
No matter how good my mana efficiency had become, this was an impossible level. As you could see, Haiel was pouring out mana even at this very moment.
At that level, wouldn’t that mean Haiel has a larger mana pool than I do?
Just as my doubts were growing.
Suddenly, the words of Fayian Roth, my senior in spirit studies, came to mind.
—“I’m sure the chief already knows, but unique spirits are different from ordinary contracted spirits. Should I say they are existences that cannot be classified by ‘rank’?”
As expected, was it thanks to having been reborn as a unique spirit?
If Haiel had come to possess a unique mana pool independent of me, all doubts were explained. Is this what parents feel when watching their child grow up well?
Thank you for growing up so well on your own, Haiel.
Having taken root stably.
The Aquarius Oaks gradually growing larger.
The moment sprouts began blooming one by one.
Change finally arrived.
“……
What?”
The thick rain fog began to clear.
The rainwater that had risen to the ankles dried up.
And even the rain that had been pouring down until now.
Shhhhhh…….
Shhh…….
Drip…….
Drip….
Drip.
“Th-the rain stopped!”
It had completely subsided.
At the same time.
My vision and the players’ vision flickered.
For a moment, a blinding light poured down.
What came into view was the same London scenery.
But there was definitely something different.
“……
P-people! It’s the citizens!”
“Damn, I don’t know what the hell happened, but wake them up!”
“Excuse me, are you alright? Please come to your senses!”
They didn’t seem to have regained consciousness yet.
But we had encountered the London citizens who had disappeared without a trace.
I too encountered Haiel.
Haiel elegantly bowed his head to me and spoke.
“I apologize for responding late to your summons.”
What is there to apologize for between us, Haiel?
I was actually feeling proud and wanted to praise you.
But situational awareness was always important.
I first looked up at the sky.
Only dark clouds.
The scenery of another London was no longer visible.
Then I asked Haiel.
“Haiel. Did I—did we lose consciousness like them?”
Haiel answered my question.
“You simply stood stock still, Lord Hoyeol. You didn’t say a word until you woke, but I could hear the telepathy you sent.”
As expected, that was an illusion?
We had properly fallen into a trap.
This made it certain. [Dungeon]
was truly a place boasting a fucking insane difficulty.
But no matter how much I thought about it, this couldn’t simply be blamed on the dungeon. ‘Leaving aside the recommended level.’ If it hadn’t been for Haiel right now.
The players, including me, would have fallen into an abnormal status and drowned in the rain. Yes, beyond the dungeon’s unique nature, I could feel its maliciousness there.
As if proving my intuition, a message surfaced. [Skill, ‘Natural Enemy Relationship’ activates.]
As if demons weren’t enough.
I reflect on my actions of complaining that a dungeon had been generated too.
To think the dungeon and demons were a set.
Reality was a much worse cesspool than I thought.
But the demon hiding in the rain fog, just like me, wouldn’t even be able to imagine. Whether it’s one hiding in reality or one that roamed the Arcana Continent.
“It’s time to pay the price.”
Survivor of Akshan and the last demon hunter.
They would never have imagined I was alive and well.
Now that the rain had stopped thanks to the Aquarius Oak.
The rain fog blocking our vision no longer existed.
Which meant I could see clearly.
Inferior scum, exactly where you’re hiding.
I asked Syureigeu.
“Syureigeu, may I ask you to continue guiding the way?”
“Ah, yes! Of course.”
“At the end of the street, is there a building that could be called symbolic?”
“If we’re talking symbols, near Chelsea Bridge Road there is…….”*Everyone had expected such a day would come someday.
Because there was no guarantee that newly created rifts would always be the same as the ones so far. One had to anticipate and prepare for the worst to respond to crises when they struck.
The AAU’s Apocalypse Declaration had been announced with such intent.
However, the London incident was beyond expectations.
Britain, hit directly, was truly in a state of chaos.
At the press conference.
A man with a visibly nervous demeanor barely managed to speak.
-“We will do our best to resolve the situation.”
10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister’s residence, as well as the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace.
Numerous citizens, including Britain’s leaders,
had disappeared into the rain and fog of the dungeon rift.
It was a situation where even mobilizing the army immediately wouldn’t be enough.
Only players could approach the rain fog and the rift.
Naturally, the world’s attention turned to Britain’s guild, Second Sun. But for some reason? Syureigeu, the guild master of Second Sun, didn’t move a muscle.
“Why is Syureigeu acting like that?”
“No way, did he chicken out after seeing the recommended level?”
“No, isn’t this a situation where even if he’s scared, he has to pretend he’s not?”
“Besides, that’s not Syureigeu’s personality.”
“……
Wait, isn’t the angle a bit strange?”
It wasn’t fear; it was an abnormal status.
The rain falling near the rift caused an abnormal status.
It didn’t take long for everyone to learn the truth. Because it didn’t take long for the man holding up a long umbrella, Hoyeol, to reveal himself.
AAU Korea Branch.
Three men were watching that sight.
Seong Hyeonjun clenched his fist tightly at Hoyeol’s appearance.
“You really do stir the emotions, you know? A black long umbrella!”
“An umbrella is just an umbrella.”
“……
I don’t particularly want to know what kind of emotion that’s supposed to be, Hyeonjun.”
In any case, Yoon Sugyeom glanced at the branch manager, Park Minjae.……
Shouldn’t he be busy with an emergency summons by now?
It was an incident serious enough that even a meeting of all the branch managers wouldn’t have been enough.
Park Minjae noticed his gaze.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No, I was just wondering if it’s all right for you to be here.”
“They only come looking for me when they need something. Why should I do them the favor of meeting them?”
Lee Hoyeol had proven himself again today.
As if he didn’t care about the governments surrounding him.
As if he didn’t care about the world’s attempts to keep him in check.
Boldly.
Like a hero, he had appeared in Britain.
But I, Park Minjae, am not that broad-minded.
“I’m not going, even if only because they piss me off.”
AAU.
Though bound together as a single organization, in reality, each branch could be considered an independent institution. In other words, skipping a few branch manager meetings wasn’t going to cause some huge disaster.
After all, the British branch manager had already skipped dozens of them……
“……!”
Wait a minute.
In that instant, Park Minjae felt something was off.……
Why Britain, of all places?
The AAU London branch, whose exchanges had grown sparse of late.
And not long after, a [Dungeon] rift appeared in London.
Was this really pure coincidence?
“……
Damn it.”
Park Minjae couldn’t make any guesses with his head alone.
Wasn’t that only natural?
You had to know something before you could even try to think it through.
However, Park Minjae did not stay still.
He hurriedly pulled out his smartphone.
“What’s the matter all of a sudden, Branch Manager?”
He shook his head at the question.
Then, with his fingers, he tapped at the keyboard in fits and starts.
The recipient was Lee Hoyeol…… If only.
‘I’d need to know his number first. Honestly.’
So he had no choice but to go through someone else.
The recipient was Nam Taemin.
To summarize the sent message in three lines, it was as follows.
[The key to clearing a dungeon is pinpointing the location of the dungeon’s depths.
The location of the depths in that rift is near Chelsea Bridge.
There is a very high probability that it is the AAU London branch.]
...
“……
Did AAU figure something out?”
He immediately forwarded the message to Hoyeol.
I really hope this information helps.
Vrrr─ng. Is that a reply?
Mr. Hoyeol already checked the message?
I hope it was of some help……
With tense eyes, Nam Taemin checked his smartphone.
“……
Hahaha.”
Then he let out a hollow laugh.
The reply that came back from Hoyeol was, once again, just a few words.
But the content was a little different.
—I know.
“Maybe it’s because you’re truly unfathomably deep, but I really can’t predict you at all.”