Zone 6 – A Land Touched by Death (1)
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Entrance to the dungeon, the stronghold of the Ludenark School.
The entrance area where major domestic clans, including the Holder Association, have gathered to form a kind of base camp.
Because many Holders were building defensive lines, even Holders with insufficient skills or non-combat Holders could enter the dungeon and take their place in the camp.
For this reason, all those with Holder qualifications among the families of the kidnapping victims had come inside to wait for the rescue of the victims.
Among them were Choi Yoo-min, Choi Arin’s older sister, and her close friends Song Hyun-a and Park Yoo-seo.
“Arin!”
“Choi Arin…!!”
“Sis! Girls! Waaah-!!”A tearful reunion takes place.
All four of them shed tears and hugged each other tightly.
They had been missing for almost three days, and the disappearance was eventually determined to be a kidnapping.
Moreover, the main target of the kidnapping was thought to be the Ludenark School, considered a ‘group of evil’.
It wouldn’t have been strange if something had gone wrong, and in such a situation, their anxiety and worry must have been at its peak.
The deeper the concern, the more overwhelming the reunion.
“It’s a relief, isn’t it?”
Kim Chae-eun, who was standing nearby, wiped away a tear as she spoke.
She also had connections with Choi Yoo-min and was a classmate, so she seemed to have been very worried about Choi Arin’s safety.
I gently placed my hand on her shoulder.
“It was worth the effort.”
“Hehe. I’m so glad we had the compass.”
“That’s right. It would have been impossible without the compass. It was possible because Holder Choi Arin is a genius alchemist.”
Choi Arin’s [Remote Magic Compass] did more than just locate the kidnapping victims.
It found the stronghold of the Ludenark School and made it possible to enter the dungeon.
Thanks to this, humans were not preempted by the Ludenark School and could instead invade the dungeon and attack them first.
‘We’ve already cleared five areas.’
Starting with the complete conquest of <Abandoned Laboratory> by <Evil Hunter>.
From the destruction of this place, set as the first area, to the areas simultaneously attacked by major domestic clans.
From the second to the fifth area, a total of 5 areas have been cleared.
It was a strategic move by the allied forces to simultaneously proceed with the rescue of kidnapping victims and the annihilation of enemies.
“Master.”
Suddenly, a man’s voice is heard from behind.
It’s Han Sang-jin, who is serving as the temporary planning team leader within <Evil Hunter>.
He didn’t participate in this hunting team activity, but he was staying at the base camp and single-handedly taking care of external activities with the association and each clan.
Han Sang-jin, holding a report in his hand, said to me, “The Abandoned Laboratory, designated as the first area, has received a complete conquest judgment. S-grade Holder Park Ji-hwan has transferred all the credit, and it has been registered entirely as the achievement of the Evil Hunter clan.”
To this, I replied with a bitter smile.
“You were thorough even in this urgent situation.”
“It’s our clan’s first official activity. Even if other clans cooperate, I thought we should strictly be the main clan for dungeon conquest.”
It wasn’t wrong.
Clan work requires rational handling of rational aspects.
I nodded slowly and asked back, “What happened to the kidnapping victims?”
“We succeeded in rescuing all 21 victims, including Holder Choi Arin. However….”
I sensed it from Han Sang-jin’s bitter expression.
“They’re not in normal condition, are they?”
“That’s right. Except for Holder Choi Arin, who was rescued first, all 20 Holders are unconscious in a state of exhaustion. The allied headquarters judges that they were sacrificed as ‘Deserters’ offerings for the Ludenark School leader.”
“Deserters….”
According to Park Ji-hwan, those who can freely move in and out of dungeons like humans are called ‘Deserters’.
Aquilen, whom I faced earlier in the laboratory, was one, and this vice-master of the school called Dave was also a Deserter.
The Ludenark School’s plan is to continue producing such Deserters.
To narrow the time frame a bit more, it’s to make the existence called ‘School Master’ Deserte.
‘…But the School Master is not an ordinary being.’
The higher the rank of the being, the more costly the Deserte seems to be.
What was needed for this were the humans who became sacrifices.
Both dead and living sacrifices are needed.
The kidnapping victims, except for Choi Arin, had fallen victim to special magic, as such ‘living sacrifices’.
Fortunately, they all survived, but it was uncertain when they would regain their consciousness and strength.
“Is there anything more revealed about the whereabouts of the Deserters?”
The biggest problem with Deserters is that they can freely move in and out of dungeons.
This doesn’t just mean at the entrance and exit of the dungeon.
They can go out to the current world if they want to, even now.
While they can only enter through the entrance, when exiting from inside the dungeon, they can move between the dungeon and the current world from ‘any point’.
This was a fact already confirmed when escaping from <Wolfenser>.
Therefore, we needed to know more details about the whereabouts of Dave or Hwang Seong-yeon, or other Deserters within Ludenark…
Because we don’t know when they might leave the dungeon at any moment and invade the current world.
“There’s nothing yet. However, there is one area suspected to be the domain owned by Vice-Master Dave.”
“……!”
The robed man, Vice-Master Dave.
As a clue related to him emerged, I opened my eyes wide.
Han Sang-jin immediately took out the [Shared Production Map] and showed it to me.
An X drawn in the bottom left of the map.
It was the point just above the 4th area that the <Dragon Sword> clan had reportedly conquered.
“It’s named the 6th zone. The area’s name is Land Touched by Death. It’s said that in a special item diary, information about this area and Dave’s name were written as clues.”
6th zone, <Land Touched by Death>.
An area that seems to exude an ominous aura just from its name.
We couldn’t know for sure if this area was really Dave’s territory as the Alliance Headquarters suspected, but since new area information and related clues had emerged, exploration was necessary.
As Han Sang-jin had said initially…
The main conquest of this dungeon was the responsibility of our <Evil Hunter> clan.
“Then let’s decide the conquest schedule in the formal meeting later. Good work, Holder Han Sang-jin. Take a rest for now.”
“Understood. Oh, by the way.”
Han Sang-jin adds as if he just remembered something.
“I’m told the official name for this dungeon has been decided as ‘The Room of Deserters’.”
Not the name of individual areas, but the overall name of the dungeon.
<The Room of Deserters>.
The evil deserters who threaten the Holder world and use humans like experimental materials.
Given that they were all gathered in this dungeon, it was, above all, an appropriate naming.
“I see. Then I’ll see you later.”
“Yes, Master.”
***
Ippotranslation
***
The conquest date for the 6th zone <Land Touched by Death> was set for tomorrow.
I wanted to go after completing preparations perfectly in a more relaxed situation, but since we had already declared war on <The Room of Deserters>, it was better to save as much time as possible.
Somehow, the scale of the clan’s first activity had become enormous.
“Here, this.”
Choi Yoo-min handed me a bundle painted in five colors.
A bundle with subspace constructed in the form of a magic bag.
Inside were crafting equipment.
“This is…”
“The contractor-exclusive equipment you asked for before. It was quite difficult as it’s close to an invention, but working together with Lee Hyun-ho, we were able to make it faster than expected.”
Contractor-exclusive equipment.
Equipment that I had commissioned as a joint request to Choi Yoo-min and Lee Hyun-ho, whom I had recently recruited as clan members.
It was also an item without proper results in the world, and a type of equipment that even Holder-class blacksmiths hardly researched due to lack of demand.
Still, I thought if Choi Yoo-min and Lee Hyun-ho, who had the best talents in the blacksmith field, joined forces, they might be able to create it somehow… That was the thought behind the commission.
“When did you finish all this?”
I thought it would naturally take a long time.
It wasn’t ordinary equipment, nor was it existing equipment.
But the speed at which the equipment was completed far exceeded expectations.
When I asked in surprise, Choi Yoo-min slightly bowed her head.
“…Since Arin was captured.”
“What?”
“You and the clan members were risking your lives going into the dungeon to save Arin… But I couldn’t do anything particularly. So I did what I could do best. I wanted to be of help somehow.”
“……”
Hearing that reason made me even more surprised.
To craft equipment wanting to be of help in a situation where her sister was kidnapped.
It wasn’t something that could be done with ordinary mental strength.
Of course, this is the ideal structure we hope for from non-combat clan members, but anyway, these results are only possible with the passion of clan members.
“Thank you. This will be a great help for tomorrow’s conquest.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. Until now, the kids got hurt a lot because there was no exclusive equipment.”
For me, who relies on cooperative combat with contractors as the main force, exclusive equipment was one of the essentials.
No matter how high the durability value and how well the defense runes are set, the body still wears down when subjected to strong attacks.
Saddles, helmets, exclusive armor…
Choi Yoo-min and Lee Hyun-ho’s collaborative work was full of defensive equipment that could protect the contractors.
These would probably be the main equipment for Tyrbon and Jaten rather than As.
“And…”
While I was smiling brightly holding the bundle containing the equipment.
Choi Yoo-min, who had been hesitating…
Suddenly came closer and kissed me on the cheek.
“This is a gift. Thank you for saving Arin quickly without letting her get hurt.”
…What just happened to me?
Dumbfounded for a moment, I opened my mouth with a bewildered tone.
“Hey, hey. I…”
“Hehe. I know, you have a girlfriend. That’s why it’s a gift! I’m going! Have a good trip tomorrow!!”
But Choi Yoo-min smiled mischievously and then waved goodbye, running away from me.
It feels like something just passed by like a storm.
And in the place she left.
I, who was left alone in a daze…
“…No one saw that, right?”
I quickly looked around, destroying the evidence.
It wasn’t my fault, but…
Anyway, if caught, I’m screwed.
It would be too unfair if someone happened to see it.
***
Ippotranslation
***
And the next day.
As we did when conquering the 1st zone, our clan gathered all five teams and completed the move.
The border of the 3rd zone.
Another territory held by the Ludenark school.
[You step into the ‘Land Touched by Death’. A gloomy energy and wandering vengeful spirits are transmitted through your skin. Some of your abilities are significantly decreased at random.]
[The special power of the ‘Runes of Clear Mind’ rune maintains the subject’s clear mind. You will not be shaken by any curse or abnormal status.]
This was the 6th zone, <Land Touched by Death>.
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