Episode 211 Nastrond (1)
After releasing the outer barrier and entering the Mist Garden, an unexpected scenery greeted Jaehyun.
A verdant garden emerges from a field full of ice.
It was hard to believe that it was the same place as Niflheim earlier.
‘Is this the Mist Garden?’
All kinds of plants are growing in an orderly manner around it.
However, despite such a cozy scenery, Jaehyun couldn’t help but let out an embarrassed voice.
The cause was the words I heard from a woman I had just encountered.
[what! Where is this! Who has been so early for so long?!]
“What? Why are you saying that even if you come early?”
It was something we couldn’t understand.
owner of the voice. According to the circumstances, this would be the person in charge of the third trial.
To put it simply, it means an existence that is eager to develop an adversary as soon as possible.
……I’m sure it should be.
Why is the voice I heard disrespecting myself for coming to the trial early?
That’s when the question popped into my head.
Hella’s voice suddenly interrupted and pierced Jaehyun’s ears.
“……Your indolent disposition is still the same. I would have told you to get rid of the habit of handling things every time you shut up. Idun.”
Hearing her words, Jaehyun’s eyes narrowed for an instant.
Idun. It was a familiar name to him.
Jaehyun looked back at the information about her with a calm expression.
‘If it’s Idun… it’s probably referring to the ‘God of Youth’.’
Idun.
In Norse mythology, the god of youth and the grower of golden apples.
The golden apples she cultivated had the effect of not only stopping aging, but also greatly increasing magic aptitude.
‘If it’s a golden apple, I’ve eaten it before.’
Jaehyun once received Idun’s Golden Apple as a reward right after clearing the first turning point quest in a mock dungeon in the past.
I was disappointed because the taste was not as good as I expected.
he reminisces about the past
Suddenly Idun’s hot voice was heard.
“Hella! As I said before, I’m not lazy, I’m just a bit slow!”
Hella didn’t take it seriously as if it was a familiar thing.
“That repetition is called indolence. It’s pretty obvious. Seeing us standing in front of us like this, you are not properly prepared for the ordeal, right?”
“Ugh…!”
Idun couldn’t reply as if he had been hit by Hella’s harsh words.
In fact, she didn’t reveal herself even when Jaehyun and Hela arrived at the Mist Garden.
Jaehyun realized that.
At first, why did Hela find it annoying dealing with the person in charge of the third trial?
‘……It’s already the third trial, but it’s the first time I’m not ready.’
Jaehyun suppressed his irritability and asked at the voice he heard.
“I will wait until the third trial is ready. How long will it take?”
“Um… that’s about three days?”
3 days.
It’s not that I couldn’t wait, but it was quite a long time.
Moreover, the time in Niflheim, which is full of desolate ice, will pass even more slowly.
Jaehyun thought.
This problem is entirely due to Idun’s lack of preparedness.
The part you just can’t skip. Jaehyun was thinking of ripping off something from her here.
“Haa…”
Jaehyun sighed and started acting in earnest.
“It’s the first time I’ve had such a poor ordeal. You only have to blow away precious time.”
Annoyed voice. The reaction was instantaneous.
Immediately, Idun’s voice, which was flustered, was heard.
“I’m sorry! But I didn’t expect you to come this early…”
In fact, Idun couldn’t help but be embarrassed.
Of course, it was wrong to be late, but didn’t you judge that it would take at least a year for the adversary to come this far?
After all, things were messed up because he arrived in Niflheim too quickly.
“If you’re sorry, you have to pay for it. Don’t you know that an apology that is only verbal is not sincere?”
Idoon’s hesitant voice followed Jaehyun’s snarky words.
“Now, wait a minute…”
Idun didn’t say anything as if he was thinking for a moment, then clapped his hands as if he remembered.
“That’s right. I heard it before. I heard you use ‘that guy’s’ fangs as weapons?”
“That guy…?”
After thinking for a while, an existence passed by Jaehyun’s head.
he said, blinking his eyes.
“Are you talking about Nidhogg?”
Among the weapons Jaehyun could craft, it was the only one with the name Fang.
Idun strongly agreed.
“huh! that’s right! Needhog! I’ll let you strengthen his weapon.
I’ll give you a quest for three days while the ordeal is ready, so strengthen your weapons and come. I’ll prepare for the ordeal somehow quickly. how is it?”
‘Nidhogg’s fangs are still an excellent S-class weapon. If we strengthen it one step further… it must mean that it will be upgraded to a mythical level.’
It was a business that Jaehyun had nothing to lose.
Anyway, I can’t go through the ordeal right away. For now, it’s best to do what she says.
It was something that might be said to be canceled if I became more greedy here.
Jaehyun nodded, trying to hide his satisfied expression.
“All right.”
“That… No gossip later!”
Idun immediately said so in a triumphant voice.
Along with her words, a refreshing message floated in Jaehyun’s ears.
―You have accepted a new quest.
―You have accepted the sub-quest 《Nidhogg’s Fang (Enhancement)》.
[Subquest]
Nidhogg’s Fang (Enhanced)
Receive the approval of Nidhogg, the dragon that exists in Nástrǫnd in Niflheim.
Condition – Nidhogg’s recognition.
Difficulty: S+
Reward: The craftable grade of 《Nidhogg’s Fang》 has been upgraded to Mythic.
Jaehyun smiled at the quest window that popped up.
A golden opportunity to strengthen Nidhogg’s fangs.
There was no reason not to save it.
“Then see you in three days.”
“Yes! Come as slowly as possible!”
Idun said that until the moment Jaehyun left.
Hella sighed.
Poppy just tilted his head, as if he didn’t understand.
* * *
After a while. Mist Garden after Jaehyun leaves.
Idun, who was sitting on the terrace, muttered as he watched him leave.
“The adversary… It was much scarier than I thought…”
She wrapped her arms around her shoulders, recalling Jaehyun’s face demanding compensation from her just a moment ago.
Even if it’s not, isn’t it Jaehyun with poor eyesight?
Unfortunately, the human personality that Idun encountered after a long time was not very good.
However, she was simple.
Soon, Idun quickly regained his energy and laughed innocently.
“no way! What’s good is good! Anyway, Nidhogg also wanted to meet the antagonist, so that’s great!”
She thought so and kept her arms crossed.
“By the way, I didn’t expect the adversary to come this soon… What the hell did you do? It’s a shame because I coped with amazing improvisation!”
Idun found peace of mind by looking at his garden.
From now on, we must prepare for the third ordeal.
You never know when the skimpy adversary will come back to you and demand compensation for damages.
If you don’t prepare quickly, you may lose all your money!
Thinking so, she spurred on preparations for the ordeal.
There were several small seeds in Idun’s hand.
* * *
“I didn’t expect the door to be hidden in this fog.”
a few hours later
The place Jaehyun and Hella Papi arrived on foot was a coastal beach covered with thick fog.
You can see it as soon as you get out of Idun’s Garden and reach the northern end. In Jaehyun’s eyes, a huge arched door covered in fog entered.
A door with patterns of snakes, wolves, and dragons embossed on the outer surface of white bones intertwined.
he asked, looking around.
“Nastrondra… It’s an unfamiliar name. Can I ask where exactly it is?”
Hela replied as if she had been waiting for Jaehyun’s words.
“To put it simply, it is hell. But it’s a fundamentally different place from Helheim.
This is a place where only the wicked among the dead come. It is a kind of prison.”
“prison?”
Hella nodded.
“That’s right. This is a prison for those who have committed serious crimes. We lock up the prisoners and give them the punishment they deserve.”
Jaehyun couldn’t help but be surprised that there is another hell that is different from Helheim.
This is because in the Norse mythology that ordinary people know, such a concept is not dealt with in detail.
Jaehyun also studied mythology a lot, but he was not very familiar with the area called Nastrond.
I’ve only heard the name a few times.
But I didn’t worry too much.
Isn’t the girl next to me a myth itself?
At the point of going with Hella, Jaehyun had no reason to worry about such a problem at all.
Thinking so, Jaehyun nodded and nodded.
“Let’s go inside first.”
After Jaehyun says that, he tries to go inside first.
Suddenly, a voice came from somewhere.
[Is this the adversary of the prophecy…?]
“This voice is… Nidhogg.”
As Hella said that, she looked beyond the door where the voice came from.
Jaehyun calmly nodded.
“Are you Nidhogg?”
[Yes. I am Nidhogg. It is a dragon that lives in the deepest part of Nastrond.]
At Nidhogg’s words, Jaehyun immediately got to the point.
“I received a quest to strengthen my weapon from Idun. They told me to get recognition from you… what exactly do I have to do?”
[First of all, reach where I am. The deepest part of Nastrond. Right to Hvergelmir.]
Hvergelmir.
If it was this word, Jaehyun knew it well.
‘It means a bubbling spring, and it is the source of all the water in the world and the spring where Nidhogg lives.’
Even in mythology, the location of Hvergelmir is described as Niflheim.
By the way, the dragon said to live there is also Nidhog.
In other words, the historical evidence of the myth was well maintained.
Jaehyun nodded and nodded.
“Is that all?”
[Of course not. But getting there won’t be that easy.
You won’t even be able to reach this place without going through three doors.]
Nidhogg continued with a smile.
[Then I wish you luck.]
Before Jaehyun could answer, the voice became an echo and disappeared.
Hvergelmir. Leaving only the words to go to the deepest place.
Jaehyun frowned.
It’s because Nidhogg left meaningful words at the last moment.
“The road to get here won’t be easy… What the hell are you talking about?”
“Once inside, I will explain.”
Hearing Hella’s words, Jaehyun took a step inside.
With a squeaking sound, the white door made of bones opened, revealing its interior.
Seeing the scenery there, Jaehyun went cold without realizing it.
[Ah… stop… Stop it….]
There, I saw countless dead people tied to chains and unable to move.
Violet liquid dripped constantly over their heads.
Chii profit!
With a burning sound, the voices of the dead grew stronger.
Jaehyun was able to realize at once that it was poison.
“What the hell is this… what is it?”
To those words, Hella replied with a hard expression.
“The first gateway to Nastrond. This is where sinners who commit adultery are tortured. They have to endure the agony of the venom dripping over their heads every day.”
[Stop… release us… I… I…!!]
[Kwaaaaagh…!!]
[Please… please stop…]
“Close your eyes. don’t run into Because the eyes of sinners make people agitate.”
Hella led the way with her horse.
She seemed familiar here.
However, despite her words, sinners stood in the way of Jaehyun and Papi.
The moment Jaehyun tried to raise his mana as if he couldn’t do it.
Suddenly, Hella raised her hand and looked at Jaehyun.
Right then. Hella, who had restrained Jaehyun, calmly took a step and raised her magic power.
That was the moment.
chuck! chuck!
A strange thing happened.
The sinners who were surrounded by them bowed their heads toward Hella and began to pave the way.
“Hella? What is this…”
Jaehyun looked at the sinners who bowed down flat and bowed to Hella, with a look of incomprehension.
Hella smiled and said.
“It seems you forgot that I am the alter ego of Hel, the ruler of the dead.”
After she said that, she pointed forward and hurried her steps.
“Let’s go. You’ll have to move quickly to meet Nidhogg.”
