Episode 151
EPISODE.76
Old and faded.
As is the case with ruins that have been untouched by humans for a long time.
The interior of the ruins that Russell discovered had turned into a situation that could be called a dungeon.
The monsters of the desert flocking from all over the place took down roots and made nests, not enough to raise their young.
Key-!
Kyaaak-!
Shaaaaaaah-!
Every time you turn a corner, all kinds of monsters pop out and block Russell’s way.
From desert goblins with dry skin to those with the appearance of scorpions, insects, or arthropods.
The number varied from one to dozens.
Of course, it wasn’t Russell’s ability to get caught up in monsters.
Big Aaaaa!
The moment the monster appeared, Russell skillfully scattered his mana.
As if he knew in advance that they would appear, he slaughtered them with a blade of wind.
clap clap clap clap-!
Amid the silence, a sharp cutting sound resonates.
An exquisite magic manipulation ability that does not inflict even the slightest damage to the ruins.
Patter-.
Half a beat late, Russell murmured as he confirmed that the monster’s flesh, which looked just like an alligator, had fallen into pieces.
‘Is it Crocus this time?’
How wide the ruins are, how many different types of monsters have taken root and are living in an ecosystem.
Of course, I had noticed for a while that the scale was not small.
Proof of this was that the aisle was still running even though it had been more than an hour since they entered.
‘The problem… is that the scale of the ruins is much larger than I expected.’
In addition, the structure does not simply lead in a straight line, but also has a number of forked roads and sections that bend here and there.
‘If I can completely restore it, it will become a fairly large ruin.’
It was obvious that if he submitted a report on this discovery, the eyes of the mages belonging to the Yellow Tower would return.
‘Even if it was only Elder Spiegelman, he would have rushed to this place right away.’
Laughing at the scene drawn in my head, I moved on for a while. Russell’s model finally reached the depths of the ruins.
Jerk-.
‘This is…’
It was a wide underground plaza that appeared right after the road that had been leading so far was cut off.
It wasn’t too hard to notice that this was the destination they had been looking for.
Once, the road leading beyond the plaza no longer existed and was cylindrical.
The light that flowed from the embossed astronomical map was also shortened to about two knuckles.
‘door?’
What Russell found in the plaza was a huge door.
It is about ten meters wide and more than twice as tall as it is wide. Along the front and back of the door, you can see that the shape of a huge dragon is roughly engraved.
The sight of a single gate standing tall in the middle of the square without any distinction between entrance and exit.
‘It feels like looking at a sculpture on display in an art museum, doesn’t it?’
However, Russell knew better than anyone else that the huge door in front of him was not a simple sculpture.
Woo woo-.
As I approached the door, I felt the circle in my heart beat at a furious pace.
To a wizard, the circle is no different than a second heart.
But that second heart is responding to this door.
It was not difficult to guess why the entrance and exit were not separated and only one door stood up.
Because I’ve been through this situation several times before.
‘Perhaps rather than an ordinary door…’
It should be thought of as a warp gate in the shape of a door.
The problem was how to activate this warp gate.
‘hmm.’
Hwaaak.
I tried pouring magic into it, but nothing special happened.
‘Even if I push with force, nothing will change.’
Aside from the question of whether he had enough strength to push the huge door, the door wasn’t the kind that could be opened both ways in the first place.
‘Left and right are connected.’
In fact, it is in the shape of a door, but it is not very different from the sculpture as I first discovered.
‘…’
Russell, who had taken a few steps back and circled around the door, eventually made a difference.
‘That’s-.’
It was because he found something in a door that was tens of meters high.
Russell’s eyes moved vertically along the boundary where the left and right sides of the door met.
What Russell found at the boundary was a hole that did not fit the vertical line.
‘Is the circular hole about the size of a couple of knuckles?’
An incredibly smooth circular shape that seems to have been formed through natural weathering.
Maybe that could be the key.
‘key?’
The moment the thought went crazy, Russell flinched.
A few words wandered aimlessly through Russell’s mind.
‘Circle’ and ‘key’
and ’embossed astronomical map’-.
Like pieces of a puzzle fitting together, they find their place.
Looking at the cylindrical embossed astronomical map in his hand, Russell laughed.
‘I wondered why it came out in this form instead of a map-.’
There was no hesitation as long as he found a use for it.
The height to where the hole was made was about ten meters.
pat-.
Russell, who jumped up to that place with a single leap, inserted the embossed astronomical chart in his hand into the hole.
click-.
Soon after, the sound of something engaging echoed from inside.
clap clap clap-.
Biangular astronomical chart.
No, mana poured out from the hole where the key was inserted.
The flowed out magical energy transforms into a bright beam of light and spreads along the dragon’s shape.
Anger-.
Right after that, a huge vortex of magic engulfed Russell’s entire body.
Paaah-.
And finally, when the light that brightened the whole area disappeared. There was no trace of Russell anywhere in the underground plaza.
* * *
“Wook-.”
As initially expected, the huge gate was a warp gate in the shape of a sculpture.
Russell groaned briefly at the light weight rising from within.
“Wook-.”
for a while too.
I raised my head, noticing that the field of view had changed.
I straightened my back and checked my surroundings.
“This is…”
What came into my eyes along the pupils moving wide was the wide open desert area.
The sunlight that fell from the sky heated the surroundings and overhead.
At the sight, Russell tilted his head involuntarily.
“Did it bounce out of the ruins?”
At first glance, it was a reasonable guess, but something was strange. It is a space where reality is clear, but somehow it feels like a dream.
I pinched my thighs just in case, but-.
‘Ugh.’
The stinging pain was definitely real.
‘Is it an illusion?’
It was then.
Something stepped on Russell’s feet as he was about to move on.
Less-.
“Compass?”
It was a compass that fit perfectly in one hand.
But there was something a little odd about it.
There was only one needle in the compass that should have been divided into N and S poles.
The moment he picked up the compass, a green window appeared in front of Russell’s eyes.
[Mission – Ⅱ]
This space is a very special virtual space, Dream (夢景) created to test ‘someone’.
Reach the end of the dream through the compass.
However, magic that moves through the air cannot be used.
[Reward]
Horn of the Dragon King (Purification of the Earth).
Higher Magic Stone (Edible) x5 Lesser Magic Stone (Edible) x7
[Mission – Ⅱ]
The mission has not changed, but the content has changed.
Isn’t this the same as the Pompeo Volcano?
‘It’s a virtual space dream…’
Maybe that’s why he felt this space like a dream?
Repeating the word dream several times, Russell stared in the direction the compass was pointing.
Since it was a space created in the first place, it was not possible to know the direction, but the compass was still pointing to a certain space.
‘Shall I try to do it at once?’
Immediate Qi.
Isn’t that what the East calls a state where magical energy moves when the heart is moved?
At the same time as having a will, the magic power that was located in the Circle wriggled.
Hwaaak-!
Overlord and Wizard Body.
Magical power swirled around Russell’s body and strengthened his body.
The muscles and tendons of the whole body are pulled taut with moderate tension.
‘Excel Haste-.’
The moment Russell, ready to use super-acceleration magic, stretches out his feet-!
Knock!
Quagwagwagwa bang!
Russell’s new model, which was about to run away, bounced back as it was.
─────────!!!
A much faster pace than the one I was running into.
‘Kuk-!’
His face was tingling as if he had been rubbed by something.
Russell, who had been flying like a pendulum with a thread cut, turned over with an unexpected shock.
It rotated continuously and slowed down.
‘Suddenly, what kind of dog is this-!’
He immediately released a fall technique and fell toward the ground, confirming the identity of what had pushed him.
Pak-.
A few grains of sand bounce as Russell’s desertification hits the floor.
Qugwagwagwagwa-.
“Huh-.”
The next moment, Russell opened his mouth involuntarily.
“Crazy…”
he cursed.
Kururureung-.
Lightning strikes and gusts of wind.
Even the grains of sand shaken by it.
Supercell.
The greatest meteorological phenomenon known to mankind was right there.
No, it’s not an ordinary supercell.
A huge thundercloud is created and a downdraft is created.
The created downdraft was entangled with the sand of the desert, creating a sandstorm beyond imagination.
Even the visible scale is beyond imagination!
The sudden sand disaster was blocking Russell’s way as if it were a wall.
Gugwagwagwagwa!
‘The wall certainly can’t be expressed that way.’
If it was a normal sandstorm, it was clear that it would have hit him at once rather than raging vigorously.
However, unlike him, the sandstorm in front of me didn’t come in until it crossed a certain line, as if it were a wall.
Perhaps the reason he bounced off was because he stepped inside that line.
‘My face is burning because it’s being blown away by the sandstorm.’
It was too majestic to be regarded as magic, and quite artificial to be seen as a natural phenomenon.
The only needle of the compass was still pointing beyond the sandstorm.
‘They say it’s a test, but they don’t seem to have any intention of sending it off comfortably.’
Thinking so, Russell sighed. Standing still, I stared at the sandstorm in front of me.
Like looking for prey.
Russell’s eyes, which analyze the phenomenon while staring at the sandstorm, are truly the eyes of a wizard.
It was itself.
dragon-swallowed wizard
