Chapter 283
[The quest ‘The Duke’s Progeny’ has occurred.]
[The quest ‘Green Field in the Deep Sea’ has occurred.]
[The quest…]
Ten quest messages appeared in the window, but Tetsuya couldn’t take his eyes off of the women. There were seven women with beautiful faces and glamorous bodies. They had full bosoms, so their breasts stood out even though they were tightly bound with cloth. Each of them had their hair bobbed, a circular shield, and different weapons such as a hand axe, spear or sword. In fact, anything that could be of a hindrance during battle was deftly dealt with or removed. All of the Valkyries were wearing shorts that barely covered their hips instead of wide pants or skirts.
Despite their skimpy attire, there was nothing sensual or sexual about them. It was the look in their eyes. They were clearly not afraid to die, and it seemed like they considered it a disgrace to not die on the battlefield. In fact, many Awakened women had those same eyes in Act Two, Stage Two, but these women who had appeared out of the blue looked even more cold-hearted. They were like beings born only for war.
[Valkyrie (Summoned Subject)
They are maidens of battle who serve Odin, the Lord. Due to the nature of their spirit, they are immune to all physical attacks and exert magical power on enemies to damage them.
Class: A]
After reading through the information window, Tetsuya noticed that they were not real people. Nevertheless, the Valkyries were special as it was his first time seeing summons that looked exactly like humans. The only difference was that they didn’t breathe.
At that time, the Valkyries surrounded Tetsuya when Odin pointed at him with his chin.
Stomp! Stomp!
A shield formed around Tetsuya. Out of surprise, his eyes went wide, and he heard Odin over the Valkyries’ shoulders through the gap between them.
“You must know that Kwon Seong-Il is in the master section, right?”
Taken aback, he answered, “Ah… yeah.”
Odin then continued coldly, “Each Valkyrie has the same strength as he does, and seven of them will protect you. So why do you still have that dead fish look on your face? Put some energy into your eyes.”
Tetsuya was confused not only because the Valkyries had appeared, but also because Odin was fully armed when he had nothing a few minutes ago. He looked like a god from a myth as he was wearing a fiery cape, a mysterious pitch and breastplate, a ring that glowed brilliantly, and was wielding a sword the size of an adult man. This was the real image of the person who Tetsuya had only heard from rumors.
Odin then stated, “You have no clue how happy you should be right now by having them protect you. Every minute and second is valuable, so you better enjoy your time being protected by the Valkyrie. Get a grip and follow me.”
***
The Maruka clan and the Grafs had originated from the same place, and traces of that were also left in Duke Amon. The tentacles on his snout and the red secretions flowing on his skin had been completed through evolution, but his two pairs of wings that stretched out were a symbol of a high-ranking, purebred aristocrat in this clan. The Grand Duke Amon wasn’t a recombinant existence like many of the subordinate nobles, but instead, he was a being that had survived through many years from ancient times.
Inside a moss-filled structure, the only sound that filled the air was the wisps of Amon flapping his wings. Amon and his progeny were currently chasing common memories. The memory played in a continuous loop, starting with the recent death of Baron Orca, the memory of the past, and the destruction of Doom Insectum and the altar of Doom Kaos. They had come to the conclusion that the human being was ‘the interrupter of the clan.’ The human man had killed lower-class aristocrats and destroyed the altar, disrupting the grand scheme of the clan.
“Orca,” Amon called.
One of the creatures rose from the place where the progeny had gathered. However, it was Orca itself. It had been reborn recently, so its memories hadn’t gone blurry yet. Therefore, its face was still trembling with anger. The last scene it remembered was the guy trampling on its decapitated body and looking down at it.
Amon ordered, “Welcome him to the office.”
Orca made up its mind that it would definitely do the process differently compared to the past even though it was sure that the result would be the same. When the Orca left, the other progeny were assigned to districts that they needed to protect, such as the hall, altar, arsenal, and military camps. Since the counterattack had begun, Amon had a lot to protect, especially the room where he hid Doom Entegasto’s Destroyed Life Vessel.
***
Ever since the Valkyries had disappeared, Tetsuya felt like he was walking in a nightmare at every moment. The sight of Odin brutally slaughtering countless monsters pouring out at once was indeed terrifying. All of the situations that he had experienced so far up to Act Two, Stage Two were nothing compared to this. There was a giant mouth that had been vertically ripped apart after it popped out of the mud, the high frequency of waves that pierced his eyes lasted for a few days, and the liquid that would melt everything spilling out like a waterfall. Mental attacks that reminded him of the trauma of his childhood also pummeled him. On top of that, there were the traps that he couldn’t figure out and disgusting minion monsters that pressured him every single second. He would have died a thousand times over without Odin’s protection.
Of course, Tetsuya had no appetite and couldn’t sleep. He had become bony, and his whole body was full of holes. Furthermore, small tentacles were stuck in those holes and wriggled crazily. He wanted to give his soul to a demon if he could escape this dread and pain. Odin was right. This was actually the most terrifying hell where things were a hundred times worse than what he had thought.
Aaaaaaargh! Aaaaaaaaaaah!
Zing-
A spark of lightning that bounced sharply touched Tetsuya’s body slightly, and he rolled over the mud.
Odin commented, “You have gone through Act Two, Stage Two, but how come you are this weak? With that kind of attitude, it’s pathetic that you wanted my stuff. As I mentioned before, there is only one way to get out of here. You should end your quest, and that’s it. Keep in mind that the more you hesitate the more time you waste.”
I’d rather die.
Tetsuya almost spat that thought out, but he couldn’t. He felt like Odin would actually hit his neck if he did so.
At that moment, Odin’s armor flashed and the Valkyries reappeared. Six days had passed since they had entered the dungeon, which felt like sixty days… no, six years.
Oh! My angels!
Tetsuya became emotional and shed tears. They must have been angels even though they had no wings on their backs. He quickly realized two hours after he had spent time with them that he could no longer waste more time.
Meanwhile, Odin frowned, but not because of Tetsuya. It was due to the intricate and sometimes changing structure of the dungeon. The Maruka clan’s fast reproductive skills allowed him to accumulate a lot of XP, but it was annoying to hover around the same spot.
[You have leveled up.]
If the power that suppressed transcendent Sense was not concentrated on the site, then Odin would have conquered the dungeon already. Although it was an A-class dungeon, it was certainly different from the other A-class dungeons he had gone through in the past. There was a mysterious power lurking in here.
Tetsuya and Odin did their best for two hours after the Valkyries reappeared. Not long before the Valkyries disappeared, they finally ran into one of the middle bosses. It was a place where they could find runes and skill books at first glance. Old stone tablets were embedded in the wall, and the letters of the clan moved as if they were alive.
Tetsuya saw Odin relax for the first time. His visibility was narrow because of the shield walls created by the Valkyries, so it took a while for him to properly view the interior.
This place is?!
It looked similar to the boss room of a D-class dungeon. The foundations were the same, but there was a huge difference between the number of tentacles stretching from the ceiling and the level of the monsters. An elite monster was standing in the center of the room, and that was the same as the boss room too.
The boss monster of the D-class dungeon is just one of many elite monsters in the A-class dungeon. What???
Tetsuya was appalled by this. At that same time, the Valkyries’ shield wall moved, and he was pushed out of the room. However, he could still view the room from a distance.
However, the gaze of an elite monster, which looked just like the boss monster of the D-class dungeon, stared at Odin in a strange way. Its eyes were full of resentment as if it was facing its greatest enemy. In fact, it was saying something while wiggling the tentacles on its chin. It must have been the language of these monsters, and then Tetsuya recalled a moment he had briefly remembered in the room that he had not thought deeply about. It was the unidentified characters moving on a stone tablet.
How can such a thing happen?
He couldn’t believe the monsters had a civilization like his own species.
The Seven Demon Kings… I thought they were just beasts that controlled the evil spirits.
At that moment, Odin started speaking in Korean to them. To Tetsuya, both Korean and the Maruka’s languages were alien to him. He thought they were exchanging some words, but then things suddenly happened. Tetsuya finally realized that even the monsters in hell knew how to scream. They were mere creatures to Odin.
***
I grumbled, “Ugh, it’s you again.”
The monster responded, “Um. Bakudarrr- Orca.”
I rolled my eyes. “Orca? Yeah, it is you.”
Technically, it wasn’t the one I had killed before. It was the new one assembled with the same memories and emotions of Baron Orca. It was possible for the Maruka clan, and that was why there was no end to their life and why their souls had always been desperate.
“Skrrr- Chida!” Orca spat out in a voice full of murderous intent.
I shrugged. “Blame your father for reviving you. You will go through the same pain.”
It screamed, “Chida! Chida! Chidarrr-”
I picked at my ear. “Yes, yes. I will send your father to hell as well, so you don’t need to be upset.”
That was the end of the conversation, and there was no need to activate the Man Who Overcomes Adversity. Since my trait Passion was still ongoing at Level 7, I threw myself at him and shouted the same thing, “Chida!”
It must have meant ‘I’ll kill you’ or something similar. The triple flame storm struck at once, and Indra’s Sword stretched out in a straight line and penetrated Orca. It screamed for a solid minute unlike the boss of a D-class dungeon and the elite of an A-class dungeon. Its flesh was torn apart and burned with its subordinates.
Crack!
I not only sliced his limbs off but also broke them into fragments.
At the last moment, Indra’s Sword was still in its body, making it resemble a grilled squid on a stone plate. I picked up its head, and its tentacles were moving toward the opposite side as I was grabbing its chin.
I snidely remarked, “Have some manners next time. Then, who knows? I might let you go without pain.”
Then, a few days passed. I found Orca in the corner of the grand city hall, sitting in a depressed manner.
It whined, “Chida…”
I barely heard its voice. It was flinching as it still remembered the process of dying.