# 42
42. Prologue (1)
I opened my eyes.
I could see the dark gray sky. When I turned my head, a familiar bed caught my eye. It was my room in the back of the hostel.
turn your left arm It was the part that had been torn apart and blown away by the black priest’s magic.
It moves properly. The hole in his right chest was also gone.
‘Did he survive?’
I thought I might die before I go back, but it seems I was one step faster.
I got up from bed and looked at the clock. 3:45 in the morning. It’s time for everyone in the waiting room to be asleep.
I lay down and closed my eyes, but my mind was clear.
I finally gave up and came out to the lobby.
Aaron was sitting on the sofa in the lobby with his head down.
I sat down and said
“What kind of unreasonable palace is this?”
“Ah, brother.”
Aaron raised his head and looked at me. The under eyes were haggard.
“I’m glad you’re all right. We were all worried.”
“Don’t worry. So, how much effort did you put on your face?”
“I was thinking about why we were fighting.”
“Why are you fighting?”
“After my brother left, corpses came to the city. And…”
Aaron’s expression darkened.
I think I know even if I don’t talk.
There are many civilian NPCs living in the city.
Even if you evacuate to the castle, there is a limit to the number of people who can accommodate it. A massacre would have been caused by the corpse. Jenna, Aaron, and Edith Party, who were inside, must have watched the scene vividly.
I looked at Aaron, who lowered his head and drank only water.
‘Did my stress level increase?’
If you repeat battles and training without rest, the hero’s stress can build up and lead to depression. Or when you watch a massacre or the death of a close friend in the middle of a mission, you get depressed. Depression was one of the biggest causes of sudden death.
Aaron, who had been drinking water for a while, stood up.
“I’ll go in first. Rest.”
“Are you going to come out with that face tomorrow too?”
Aaron smiled bitterly and said.
“It will recover tomorrow.”
“Okay, go in.”
“yes.”
Aaron bowed his head to me and went back to the inn.
I sat alone in the dark lobby and drank water.
I remembered the guy who brought me here.
It was like that even before coming to the waiting room. Because of the mosaic, I couldn’t see him properly. Only an unpleasant voice that sounded like scratching iron remained in my mind.
‘Did you say you were waiting?’
If I had time, I would have asked the black priest who said he wanted to talk, but I killed him.
I couldn’t fall asleep until Chloe showed up that morning.
It would be a bad night.
Anyway, since one big battle is over, we need to take some action to lower the stress.
It’s originally the role of Amkena, but it’s not special as this guy can’t do his job.
After greeting me, I spoke to Chloe, who was preparing the ingredients in the kitchen.
“Get out all the ingredients. Cook the best you can.”
Chloe hesitated for a moment, but then nodded and took out all the ingredients in the storage room. The baker who came after her also began to demonstrate her skills.
The morning meal that everyone in the waiting room gathers for.
The table is lined with a variety of grandiose dishes such as meat dishes, various bread salads, and soups.
Jenna, who came to the restaurant first, widened her eyes.
“What is this? It’s morning, so why is it so fancy?”
“Why, don’t you like it?”
“No! If it’s always like this, you’re welcome!”
Jenna sat down on the chair with a single smile.
Soon, members of the waiting room came out one after another. They were surprised once after seeing the food and twice when they saw me. It deserves it. I rarely show up at restaurants.
Meal begins.
I took a piece of bread and ate it while examining the faces of the party members.
‘Jenna, of course, is normal. Aaron is fine too. I like Iolka too.’
It doesn’t look good.
However, he somehow maintains his reason.
I looked at the 2nd party.
Two 3 stars are fine. Even if you eat, you are eating somehow.
The 5th member of each party, Shurn and Mackin, are dead, so you don’t have to see them.
To some extent, this was expected. The two joined too late and their level was too low.
‘Dica.’
Dicka was gagging.
Edith stood up and helped Dicka out.
Mental management of party members is also one of the roles of a leader.
Fighting was fierce, but casualties were few.
that would be the cause
Even so, it would never be perfect.
The stress was building up little by little.
And late evening when everyone went back to the inn that day.
[Welcome to Pick Me Up!]
Amkena logged on.
[Loading has finished.]
[TOUCH ! (selection)]
Lights in the sky.
I was sitting on a square bench.
I knew Amkena would come in.
A low class fire attribute stone given as a reward for clearing the 10th floor.
In the warehouse, the water and wind attribute stones I have collected are stored.
The alarm came to mind with a cheerful sound.
[There is a hero waiting for a master promotion!]
[A hero that can be promoted – ‘Han( )’]
[Tips/For promotion, you need the upgrade center, which is an annex of the synthesizer.]
Amkena’s control window comes to mind.
The facility tab was touched.
[You have selected the ‘Upgrading Center’, an annex of the ‘Synthetic Center’. Do you want to build it?]
[Yes (optional) / No]
Kururu.
A slight vibration shook the waiting room.
[The upgrade station is complete! From now on, the hero can be promoted.]
Then, the item synthesis window came up.
Red stones, blue stones, and green stones are rotating in a circle in the synthesis window.
[Start item synthesis!]
[Optional Material – Lesser Fire Property Stone, Lesser Water Property Stone, Lesser Wind Property Stone]
[Complete Item – Lesser Upgrade Stone]
[Success Rate – 87%]
[Synthesis Method – Automatic]
[Do you want to synthesize?]
[ Yes (optional) / No]
[Chudangbangbangbang!]
[Fairy Power!]
[Good!]
[Synthesis complete!]
[You have acquired the ‘Low Upgrade Stone’!]
The warehouse door opened and Issel came out.
He was holding a rainbow-colored stone in his arms.
[Congratulations on your promotion!]
I silently accepted the rainbow-colored stone Isel threw.
[With this, you are 1st grade graduate. Like this, up to 7 stars! Attack the tower!]
“I don’t know if I can get to 7 stars.”
[Who, if not Loki, would go to the 7th star!]
If that were the case, Siris would already be the 7th star.
I tried in all directions, but I couldn’t have as much as a 7-star hero.
[Master promotion begins!]
Knocked up.
The door to the synthesis was opened.
I walked slowly inside, holding the upgrade seat in one hand.
Another door was open inside the synthetic lab with the purple magic circle on it.
Enter the second door.
The promotion center was a room with almost the same structure as the synthesis center. Instead, the magic circle was red, and there was a small altar in the center of the room where a stone could be placed. I put the upgrade seat on the altar.
A bright red light emitted from the upgrade seat.
bang!
The synthesizer’s door was slammed shut.
The door to the lift station was then closed.
advancement.
It is one of the areas that the Master cannot see.
If you put a hero and materials in the promotion center, the hero comes out in a promoted state after a while. Even the Master had no idea what was going on inside.
Red light radiated from the entire magic circle.
It’s similar to coming out of the space-time gap, but for some reason, it feels a little more attached to the skin.
It felt like being submerged in deep water.
A red light covered his entire body.
when you open your eyes again
“Baby.”
A narrow, shabby room made of wood.
A middle-aged woman sitting in a rocking chair was holding a newborn baby in her arms.
“It’s nice, it’s not nice.”
“Who are you?”
No answer.
This woman seemed to be in a state similar to the NPC on the 10th floor.
But it’s a little different.
Tung.
He reached out to the woman, but bounced off the middle.
‘I can’t even touch it.’
I looked around the room.
A place less than 10 pyeong. The furniture was old and shabby.
The dark-haired, dark-eyed woman caressed the baby.
“You’re going to be a great person.”
The touch is full of love.
I intuitively recognized the identity of the baby.
‘Han Israt.’
I am not.
I have no family.
There was a guy over there who should have come here instead of me.
I remembered the first time I came to the waiting room.
An Israt on the Heim Peninsula.
Isel called me by that name.
‘I don’t know English.’
I looked at the window in the corner of the room.
Beyond the window, an unknown darkness lingered.
“It’s nice, it’s not nice.”
I can’t afford to waste my time on such useless things.
There was a door leading out of the right wall. grabbed the doorknob It didn’t bounce this time. I immediately opened the door and ran out.
When I came out, it was the plaza of the waiting room.
The square was empty, without any decorations.
It’s not Amkena’s waiting room. I didn’t know where.
The lights are off in the sky.
I walked slowly through the empty waiting room.
There is only one door in the square. There were no lodgings, warehouses, or training camps. When I look back at the door I came out of, it is gone.
On the nameplate of the gate, it was written that it was a gap in time and space.
profit.
The door opened with an eerie sound, and something came out spraying light.
Two pairs of twinkling stardust wings. A black dress and a unique dainty face.
‘Isel?’
different.
This kid was about the size of a fist. Issel is not this small.
The fairy giggled as it flew around me. Then, with his little finger, he pointed inside the space-time gap.
“Do you want to come in?”
nod
Suspicious, but staying here won’t change anything.
I took a deep breath and stepped into the space-time gap.
In the center of the circular room was a single mirror.
[Prove your strength!]
[Advent Dungeon: Difficulty – Superb]
“This is…”
Bang!
The door to the plaza was closed. The fairy continued to hover around me, giggling. Black light began to leak from the mirror.
The jet-black light enveloped me without a second thought.
And I was standing alone in a dark space.
[Drunk!]
[Advent dungeon opens!]
[Warning! Warning! Warning!]
In an instant, crushing pressure enveloped her entire body.
“town…!”
I got down on one knee
It was as if someone was squeezing me from above with a mechanical press.
blurred vision can’t breathe If I let go of my mind even a little bit, my whole body will collapse and become a piece of meat.
[‘Han( )’ feels fear! All stats are reduced by 30%.]
I drew my sword and drove it into the ground.
I don’t know if it’s land or where. Because it was just black.
I desperately held on to the sword hilt. His body trembled, and blood oozes from his clenched teeth.
I’m going to pass out if I go on like this.
I scratched my left palm with my sword. Blood ran down the blade of the sword.
I felt a sensation in my head as if something had been blocked.
[‘Han( )’ has entered a berserk state!]
[‘Han( )’ has escaped from fear.]
「Huh.」
“…Haa.”
Inhale slowly and exhale again.
regain control of the body
I got up from my seat.
The guy was standing in front.
[SS▩SH黑⊙∈※ Lv.999]
