Episode 139 [ Disaster Prophecy, Hunting Preparation – 1 ]
——————————==
Lee Hyun-wook is with Donald Harris in Friedwen. We were sitting face to face.
A bald white old man with a grumpy look oozing out of his entire body…
Lee Hyun-wook had only seen this man a couple of times in his past life.
So I didn’t know exactly what kind of personality he was.
‘As far as I know, they harbored a deep distrust of humans and rarely communicated with the outside world.’
Like the saint, he was a hermit who locked himself in a secret study inside the World Tree and never went outside… I don’t know why he came all the way to this far away place, but it didn’t seem like anything out of the ordinary.
Then he took something out of his pocket.
It was a cigarette, but it wasn’t an ordinary cigarette.
“Is smoking prohibited indoors?”
“Oh, it doesn’t matter.”
“Would you like to smoke one too?”
“I am okay.”
Then he added that since it is made from the young leaves of the world tree, it actually gives a good buff.
I wonder if it makes sense to say that cigarettes are good for the body, but it is possible if it is a by-product of the World Tree.
Cheeeeeee—
A small spark erupted from the tip of his finger and lit the end of the cigarette.
Then a water ball formed in the other hand and froze into a cup.
Squeak—
cold water fills up inside of it of its own accord.
At first glance, this may seem like a strange magic trick, but it is actually a deceptive ability.
‘An S-class elementalist who can use all four spirits…’
In other words, he can use all the powers of fire, water, earth, and wind. It wasn’t just a matter of performing a few magic tricks, it was capable of reaching the highest level in all aspects… It was truly a deceptive ability.
Immediately after, a wind spirit bloomed from his shoulder and began to rotate around the two bodies.
Wooooow——
it spun so fast that the air flow—the sound was blocked. It was some kind of silence magic.
And then he got straight to the point without any unnecessary introduction.
“The war event has just ended, but would you believe that another big event would come to this land?”
With a calm expression, he spoke something like a prophecy:
‘Big event?’
However, in Lee Hyun-wook’s memory, there was no major event for the time being.
So, he couldn’t help but wonder if what he said was true.
“…How do you know that?”
Before asking what the big event was, I first asked how I knew.
“When I say something like this, people usually just believe it, but you don’t?”
“Is predicting events like that one of the World Tree’s abilities?”
Donald Harris drank cold water as if he were savoring it and then secretly expressed his cynicism.
“This means you don’t believe me. Isn’t that right?”
“That’s not true, but I’m just being as careful as I can.”
“Then can I tell you in more detail?”
Hyunwook Lee nodded and Donald Harris began to explain,
“The World Tree periodically produces various fruits, and among them, there is a black fruit. If you swallow it, you will see an event scheduled to be created within the World Tree’s domain. “It’s like a movie trailer.”
He eats the fruit once a month and has predicted the number of gates that will appear in the Republic of Chad.
And just in time, today was the day to harvest the fruit…
“I swallowed it this morning, and a rather unfamiliar landscape unfolded before my eyes. No matter how I looked, it wasn’t Chad, and when I looked, it was Korea, right? Maybe it was a sacred tree or something. “There seems to be some connection.”
“…So what did you see?”
“A city center somewhere in this country turns gray and burns, and a being with huge wings passes by above it… It will happen within the next 30 days, so we need to prepare now.”
He completely burned the cigarette butt, threw it away in the wind, and opened his mouth.
“For me and you, this blessing we hold is actually a debt to disaster.”
A blessing owes a disaster… It was an idea that was by no means common. On the contrary,
as it has been so far, only by preventing disaster will blessings, or rewards, come.
Aren’t all the World Trees, Laputa and Shindansu, the result of conquering a huge disaster?
‘But If you think about it, eventually we will have to face another disaster someday.’
This is a game. And for a fun game, conflicts must be repeated and their scale must become larger. In that sense, if the total amount of existing ‘blessings’ is high… the coming disaster must also be that big. That is the balance of the game
. The concept of ‘level design’ is
‘Could it be that I got too ahead of myself and the difficulty level suddenly increased?’
Compared to my previous life, it has become very peaceful now.
I completely attacked the 4th wave ahead of time, blocking the erosion,
and destroyed the Black Orc army several years early.
‘The boss monster Stonnox is still alive, but I was able to capture it in the event. So…’
In his previous life, problems that had been resolved years later had ended too early.
Lee Hyun-wook nodded as if he understood what I meant and asked,
“Then… do you know what the big event is specifically about? ?”
Before answering, he took out another cigarette and asked. Is this a hobby of an old man who lives alone?
Anyway, he said it would smell good, but the unique burnt smell of the smoke seemed unavoidable.
“Hu—”
The words that came out of his mouth immediately after that were: It was worse than cigarette smoke.
“…An adult dragon called ‘Azi Dahaka’ will appear along with Angra Mainyu’s army.”
At that point, Lee Hyun-wook slowly took a breath.
‘The dragon is also an adult…’
As of now, the dragon has only appeared once.
However, it was a sub-adult that had just left the hatchling stage.
Therefore, the appearance of the adult dragon was the worst disaster.
However, Lee Hyun-wook was surprised and had a strange sense of anticipation.
‘…Aji Dahaka is the one I caught.’
A few years later, the Black Dragon and its troops appeared in Suwon….
All the players in this land had to come forward and raid.
And Lee Hyun-wook killed him by sticking a mogley into his head.
Of course, dropping a Mowlay from a low altitude did not mean it could be killed instantly.
To make that possible, we had to cut down the dragon’s mana shield, which wasn’t easy.
‘Anyway, since I caught him once, can I say it’s a blessing in disguise?’
Lee Hyun-wook knew very well how to attack that large, level 199 boss monster.
At that time, Donald Harris smiled and tilted his upper body.
“And if you want to deal with that disaster, I think I can support you.”
The manager of the World Tree provides support…
Up until now, I have used the power of the World Tree indirectly through a saint.
But if Donald Harris directly gave me his hand… it would be on a different level.
However, Lee Hyun-wook said , The words weren’t very sweet.
‘But why are you so willing to help me?’
As far as he knew, Donald Harris was not the kind of person who would easily show kindness to someone. He
remembered the time when Lee Hyun-wook, in his past life, was a Guardian, and went to him and asked for help.
Wasn’t he a person who had rejected everyone, including Guardians, as a black-hearted bastard in the first place? ?
‘In the end, he was right, but…’
In any case, it was clear that he was not a person worth helping without any other reason.
Sure enough…
“Of course, there is one condition.”
Lee Hyun-wook nodded as if he had been waiting.
“There’s a dragon on my world tree, Yggdrasil, and he’s called Nidhogg…”
In Norse mythology, Nidhogg was a dragon that lived by gnawing on the roots of Yggdrasil.
Right now, Donald Harris would be locking him up so he wouldn’t get out.
However, in the future, the Dark Elf Legion releases Nidhogg shortly after occupying the Republic of Chad.
And it stays on the World Tree until the end and devours Donald Harris, who resisted.
“For now, we are suppressing it with the power of the World Tree, but more and more power is needed.”
“…So that’s what’s limiting the growth of the World Tree?”
“Okay, so I have to get rid of him as soon as possible so I can prepare for retirement, right?”
It was a world tree that expanded explosively right after its birth, but at some point its growth stopped.
The world was assessing that it would be the complete World Tree, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
“If you kill Aji Dahaka and become a dragon slayer, then you will be helping me.”
Once you catch a dragon, you get the ‘achievement’ of being a dragon slayer.
And the weapon that killed the dragon also has the ‘option’ of being a dragon slayer.
From then on, hunting dragons becomes much easier.
“How about preventing the upcoming big event? Besides, can you become a dragon slayer?”
Lee Hyun-wook nodded without hesitation.
“We can’t move this entire country, so we have no choice but to take it.”
“It’s fun, isn’t it? Judging by the fact that his expression hasn’t changed at all, it’s not like he’s bragging. “It’s pretty reliable.”
This man, who trusted no one and behaved alone until the last moment, could say something like that…
‘Did you think favorably of me or something?’
No matter how much I thought about it, it was surprising in many ways.
But regardless of that uncomfortable feeling, Lee Hyun-wook was planning to take what he could from this conversation.
“Oh, but I also have one condition.”
“Hmm? Speaking of conditions, what other conditions are needed here?”
“I’m sorry, but I haven’t accepted the deal yet.”
Then Donald Harris laughed as if it were absurd.
“I said I would provide support directly, but are you saying you want to make a deal?”
As for the support of the World Tree manager, although we haven’t discussed the extent yet, it was definitely not a loss.
But asking for more here was no different from being a cool brat.
But…
“Well… honestly. “I am confident that I can do it without Mr. Harris’s support.”
He was implying that he had the confidence to overturn the transaction itself by saying that there was nothing to regret.
‘Regardless of who had the bigger hand in the first place, it is more disappointing who traded first.’
At those words, a faint smile appeared on Donald Harris’ face.
“So what are the conditions?”
Lee Hyun-wook took out the item he had obtained during the 4th wave from his pocket.
[Item information]
– Name: Seed of Mistiltein (unknown)
– Effect: None
It was ‘Mistilteinn’, a weapon of god killing.
Although it is still in the seed stage, like mistletoe, it was able to grow as a parasite on sourwood.
“Can I borrow the power of the World Tree?”
Although they obtained the divine tree, it would have been better to use the power of Yggdrasil as nourishment.
***
After finishing the conversation, the two people came out of Prydwen and stood in front of the divine tree. As they approached, they saw the ‘Eight Pillars of
Spirit
‘ that they had placed in their arms. responded.
– The sacred tree ‘Shindansu’ is taking root. (31%)
* Currently available ‘master authority’ is as follows:
1) Deployment of sacred shield (radius 3km)
2) Strengthening the blessing of life (60 minutes) )
‘It appears that all functions are not activated yet as it is taking root.’
At that time, Donald Harris placed his hand on the sacred tree.
“I was looking up the belief in the sacred tree and saw that it appears in the founding myth of this country, right?”
“Yes, that’s right. But from Mr. Harris’s perspective, is it clearly weaker than the World Tree?”
“hmm… The World Tree’s power is weaker than when it first appeared, but it is still a sacred tree. It will be a blessing beyond whatever you expect. But that means there will be more enemies…”
He said and walked up to the huge bird Hresvelg crouching behind him.
He then took something out of the huge leather pouch stuffed around its neck.
“What is that?”
Attached to the end of a long wooden pole was a wooden sculpture in the shape of a bird.
‘Sotdae?’
At that time, the wind spirits appeared, lifted it high into the sky, and slammed it down to the ground.
Boom—!
The moment the pole hit the ground, a bright light burst out.
Ugh——
– The ‘Guardian Spirit’s Court’ is activated in the area. (The remaining Time: 15 days)
“Now, for the next 15 days, access to monsters and dark players will be blocked.”
It blocked the possibility of those who were wary of the sacred tree trying to target it in the early stages.
“I want you to know that this sotdae is a very precious gift that can only be made once or twice a year.”
That wasn’t the end of his gift:
“And installing this will help you in many ways.”
He held out a transparent glass box.
There was something inside it… it was none other than a honeycomb.
[Object Information]
– Name: Shinmok Beehive
– Effect: When ‘installing’ the object, the following effects are applied.
1) Habitat defense: A group attack is carried out when an ‘hostile’ approaches within a certain radius (3km).
2) Holy honey production: Creates honey containing divine power at certain intervals (1 day).
* This object can only be installed on ‘Divine Tree’.
Should I say this is some kind of security system?
Lee Hyeon-wook installed the object in the thickest part of the branches of Shindansu.
“As you probably already know, the sacred tree’s master authority includes a shield function, so use that as well.”
Lee Hyun-wook nodded and selected Dome Deployment from the previous ‘Master Authority’ menu.
Woo-woo—
A translucent dome spread from the top of Shindansu and covered the surrounding 3km radius.
“Okay, in the next few months, this will be done . The island will become the most expensive island in the world?”
Within a few days, the power of Shindansu would cover the entire Ganghwado Island and turn it into a mana ecosystem. As a result, fresh mana would permeate throughout the island, rare herbs would bloom, and the water would turn into holy water.
‘ If the time comes to utilize this power properly… we will be able to overpower the Necromancer.’
Of course, the villain side also noticed the appearance of the second sacred tree and properly confirmed the presence of the saint.
‘Of course, they will do their best to prepare something in response.’
And… the one who prepared clearly would be the final winner.
***
The reinforcements from the Republic of Chad opened the ‘World Bridge’ and returned.
Lee Hyun-wook also entrusted the security of Shindansu to team leader Lee Kyo-jun and returned to Laputa.
Lee Hyun-wook sat at the Order Tower and began to take care of the backlog.
First, the quest content was updated by killing dimension shifter William Bernard.
[Main Quest]
– A second chance at life Obligatory destiny….
1) Somewhere in this world Track the open ‘Black Gate’.
2) Past life—Defeat the ‘dimensional shifter’ who will come from the first world. (1/3)
3) Encounter ‘■■■’ who knows the truth of this world.
‘One-third… doesn’t that mean we have to catch a total of three people?’
Among the future villains, William Bernard was the easiest opponent.
However, all the other names that immediately came to mind were difficult.
And especially…
‘Necromancer… If he comes, it will be a different story.’
Even in the battle with the current necromancer, I was defeated.
But if the necromancer comes 8 years from now…
‘…I will definitely lose.’
However, the ‘trigger’ for the appearance of the dimensional shifter was his encounter with the current William Bernard.
‘Couldn’t… just face each other to start dimensional shift?’
I thought maybe it was fortunate that I didn’t face the necromancer directly during this battle. And it was better not to clash with the necromancer unless I was fully prepared. And one of the things William Bernard said when he appeared kept lingering in my head
. .
‘The word transcendence quest that he muttered over and over again… What on earth is that?’
That must be why they came over here…
I couldn’t sense anything right now.
But there would come a moment in the future when the veil would be lifted.
‘For that time, I have to constantly increase my strength to move forward.’
And the easiest way to increase strength was, of course, a good item.
Just—
Lee Hyun-wook snapped his fingers, and a metal box flew out of nowhere.
Inside was none other than William Bernard’s skull.
‘This feels like robbing a grave. ?’
Lee Hyun-wook checked the items on the creature’s body one by one.
– Acquired Black Drake Leather Armor (Skilled)
– Acquired Adamant Full Plate Armor Set (Skilled) –
Dark Elf Assassination Leader’s Treasured Sword: Red I have acquired Shadow (Hero).
Every time I touch it, skill or hero grade items appear one after another.
‘As expected, there are a lot of useful things, right?’
And finally, I found a legendary item.
– You acquired Draupnir (Legendary).
‘This was mine too…’
It seemed like this bastard took most of the things he had in his past life.
This bracelet Drauf . Nir is one of the treasures of ‘Odin’, the highest god in Norse mythology, and was known to be duplicated every 9 days. However, in this game, it was set to have a slightly different ability. [Item Information] – Name: Draufnir (
Legendary
)
– Effect
1) Creation: Creates a total of 8 pieces of 100-200g of ‘random magic metal’ every 9 days. 2) Storage: A
total of 81 pieces of generated magic metal can be stored in your own subspace.
Like this, the golden bracelet Instead of replicating, it was changed to producing magic metal.
‘Because things like gold are completely useless in this game.’
The function of this item was focused on the productive side rather than combat.
‘For me, it was a kind of snack bag…’
In my past life, other than the function of this bracelet, there was no way to easily obtain high-quality metal.
At that time, I grew up late. This was because I had no choice but to rely on the Guardian’s support.
So, even though this bracelet was made of metal, I did not dare to swallow it because it was a waste.
‘But this life is different.’
Gulp—
He boldly swallowed ‘Draupnir’.
Lee Hyun-wook was also curious about what kind of skill he would gain if he ate it.
At that time, the mana messenger rang.
– I recognized that the boss had asked for it. It is said that the currently available flight stones are about 2 tons.
This voice was Kang Jeong-du.
– But what did you say you would use this for? I couldn’t get it from the employee.
“I want the Iron Golem or Living Armor to be able to fly.”
– …….
Those words were followed by silence for a moment. It seemed like a pretty far-fetched idea.
At that time, a ball-shaped Talos speaker came down from above.
“(°][°) Can I finally fly?”
It seemed like this guy had said he wanted to fly someday.
– It won’t be easy. A lot of flight stones are needed, and mana supply is also a problem…
Kang Jeong-du has recently been learning air craft crafting techniques while interacting with gray dwarves.
However, making Living Armor fly seemed to be in a completely different context.
– However, if you tell us for what purpose you need the flight function, we will adjust the level.
“Flying monsters… That’s because we have to catch them flying soon.”
– Oh, that wyvern you hunted last time? Are you trying to catch something like that?
“This time we’ll catch something a little bigger than that.”
– I see. Then, I will contact you again after experimenting with this and that with the staff.
After ending the communication with Kang Jeong-du, Lee Hyun-wook stood up.
There was still one more thing to take care of.
“Now, for the last time… the Geoshin Disease Research Institute. “Would you like to check?”
After winning the war against the Black Orc Army, Ed On [Colossus Research Institute] was fused with Laputa.
The huge airship became a single building and attached to the right side of Laputa.
“Can I enter the Talos Colossus Research Institute?”
“Oh! I haven’t turned on the power yet, but I can do it right away!”
When I arrived there a little while later, I discovered something amazing.
“……uh?”
And the moment he witnessed it, Talos was even more excited than Hyunwook Lee.
“Q(°0°)Q oh oh oh——I never even dreamed that that thing would be here!”
