Chapter 286
There was no Act Two, Stage Five in the past as each act had ended after three stages. There must have been a change in the method of progress, and I felt there would be a huge connection between the change and the years I was sealed.
Our conversation was interrupted because the monsters created by Orca smelled the flesh of the entrants. The man was shrewd in making decisions even though he was facing many monsters from the entrance, and he seemed like he had come in only to check the place.
“Withdraw!” he ordered.
Although this was the entrance room, this area was tied to the boss room. In other words, the law of the dungeon here was different from what they had thought, similar to the changed rules of the Stage of Advent.
Sheeek-
The tentacles from the ceiling fell and stuck down on the ground like daggers and blocked their attempt to retreat. Orca had no desire to let them escape either. After the way out was obstructed, tentacles popped up from the ground and wrapped around the Awakened’s ankles. I looked at the man who was resisting them.
[You have perfectly seen through the subject. (Skill, Night Eye)]
[Name: Sean Brown
Level: 225 (Gold)
Guild: None
Corps: None
Attack Squad: Sean]
He wasn’t a part of a guild or corps, and there was no other information to judge him by.
I left them alone and headed to the entrance after cutting off the tentacles. Then, the closed exit opened. The outside was a huge wasteland, and I didn’t feel anything even though I was raising my Sense to its peak. In the endless wasteland, there was not a single campsite.
A few signs I sensed seemed to be from ghouls[1] among the undead creatures, not from humans. That was bizarre. The Undead were things that I could only see in the Land of the Dead. The world where they roamed was desolate and gray with no other color, but this place was distinctly different from that world.
What is going on?
I turned my back to the dungeon entrance while frowning.
[Class: E
District: Forbidden Zone (Maruka Clan)]
I penetrated the blue membrane and went back into the dungeon. Within a few minutes, things had fallen into utter confusion. The Awakened were struggling to get air as the tentacles had wrapped around their bodies. Orca’s clones were running wild to take at least a bite of the Awakened’s flesh. The Awakened were doing their best to get out of the restraints as they didn’t know that tentacles were the reason why everyone was still alive. Orca was saving them from its progeny.
Then, I made eye contact with Orca, who had entered the entrance room, and it sighed with resignation. I first had to kill its clones.
A little while later, I removed them at once by luring them to the center. All the tentacles in the dungeon were moving the way Orca willed, so they were wiggling and dancing wildly. Even then, it seemed unwilling to let go of the Awakened. However, it also didn’t want to handle them calmly, so it increased the pressure on them as their protective barriers had vanished already.
Crack. Crack.
I heard the sound of groaning, gnawing teeth, and breaking ribs. Then, Orca’s back flinched as if it had just realized that I was back. The tentacles that were squeezing the Awakened began to loosen.
I said, “That’s enough.”
Slap!
When I hit the back of the Orca’s head, it bent forward. Contrary to its appearance, it was a quick-witted fellow. It answered calmly as if nothing had happened, “To? Torrr-?”
Although it didn’t understand my language, it was talented at knowing what I wanted. Or it must have learned Korean while staying next to me.
I shook my head. “No, don’t kill them, but keep wrapping them with your tentacles.”
The tentacles that were about to drop the Awakened on the ground tightened up again. As I approached their leader, the tentacles moved the man who was tied up in the air closer to my face for better communication.
His name was Sean, and he was in his early sixties. Those who didn’t belong to guilds or corps were obviously criminals or wanderers who had committed something similar to a crime. Despite Lee Tae-Han’s decent management, they had always been there.
“Are… are you a human?” he asked.
It was impossible for me to be kind to him.
I replied coldly, “I ask questions, and you just answer them, okay? I have no intention of chatting with people like you.”
I continued while tapping the head of the leader hanging upside down.
“You better spill all the information you have.”
***
Sean thought he was a monster as he had appeared out of the blue, then he soon realized the mysterious creature was a human like him after exchanging a few words.
But is he actually a human? He is like a monster. Ah, I have no idea.
Sean was terrified as he was facing a creature whose identity was not clear. Even if the Maruka clan was weaker than it used to be, they were still one of the Seven Demon King’s corps. In addition, they were intelligent bipedal monsters. Therefore, the Maruka nobles were indeed horrific beings. The monster with tentacles must have been one of them, but he didn’t know the one that was treating it like a slave.
Is it a monster or a human?
Out of all of the Seven Demon Crops, the Maruka aristocrats hated humans the most. Thus, Sean couldn’t believe what was happening in front of him. There was only one person who could be like that, but there was no way that woman would be here right now.
Sean asked the man who was covered in mud and the monster’s extract, “Are… are you a human?”
The man responded coldly, “I ask questions, and you just answer them, okay? I have no intention of chatting with people like you. You better spill all the information you have.”
When the mysterious person’s fingers poked Sean’s temple, he got a tingling sensation radiating toward the other side of the temple. A short scream broke out in his mouth.
The man continued, “Tell me about the leadership of this stage.”
The guy treated monsters horribly like that woman, and Night Eyes didn’t work on him. In addition, he was gazing at Sean with eyes full of contempt. Sean clenched his teeth.
The man remarked, “People who go against the association and do what they are told not to do are like this. You never listen. Never mind then. There are so many others who can tell me what I need to know.”
Sparks began to fly up. Sean then realized that the guy was having a huge misunderstanding. The moment the man’s eyes became more murderous and a wicked smile appeared on the Maruka noble’s face, Sean cried out in a hurry, “Shit, no, I’m not! I’m not a vagrant!”
“...”
He screamed hurriedly, “A lot! Things have changed a lot! How long have you been locked up?”
The man responded, “Since Act Two, Stage Two.”
Sean became speechless for a moment. At that time, the tentacles that were tying him were completely loosened, and he was stuck in the mud. He opened his eyes wide after wiping the mud off his face. The man’s eyes were shaking, and he resembled a true human.
However, Sean still couldn’t be relieved because there was something eyeing him over the man’s shoulder that clearly wished to kill him. It was the horrifying Maruka noble. Sean couldn’t understand what the man was saying to the monster.
Is it Korean? No, no way. It shouldn’t be Korean.
Sean then discovered that the man had told the monster to walk away when the Maruka nobleman slowly moved toward the corner in low spirits. The relationship between the man and the monster was certainly mysterious and indescribable, similar to how the man claimed he had been locked up since Act Two Stage Two.
“So, you are not a tramp, right?” the man asked shortly.
Sean shook his head. “No. Do we look like vagrants? I… I also hate those kinds of guys.”
“Ah, I’m sorry if that’s true.”
Sean knew the man wasn’t sincerely apologizing to him. His sharp-tempered expression seemed very dangerous.
The man asked again, “Tell me. How have things changed?”
“From Act Two Stage Two…” he mumbled as he traced back in his memories. “There have been signs since the time you were trapped here. That’s when the System had started to treat us harshly.”
The more he thought about it, the more he trembled in anger. Looking back, Stage Two was like a paradise compared to the latter stages. In Stages 3, 4 and 5, the Awakened were forced to carry out quests while fighting against the Seven Demon Kings’ monsters pouring out of the gate. They had to carry a weapon in one hand and a quest item in the other hand. However, the System wasn’t the only thing that forced them. Many people had died because the guild leaders were eager to complete quests.
In Stage Four, they were thrown into difficult dungeons without knowing why. Also, the System had concentrated the life energy of the earth in each city and completely removed it. The unexplained quests had killed many Awakened.
Looking back, it was peaceful until Act Two, Stage Two when this guy was trapped… Those days would never come again.
“It would be a lie to say that I understand how painful it was to be trapped here for such a long time unless I have experienced it in person. So, it must be hard for you to understand what we have been through. You might have been lucky because strong men like you… were killed first.”
Sean was curious when the man’s face began to darken. He must have thought the story was interesting as Sean was interested in the long period the guy had been locked up.
However, the man looked as if everything that had occurred was his fault. Sean knew that face. It was when he confessed his sins to the priest.
Sean continued, “Did you think I was a vagrant because I didn’t belong to any guild? That shouldn’t be the case from now on because so many are like that.”
The guy nodded with a more stiffened expression.
“Why?” the man finally asked.
Sean explained, “A lot of people are not taking part in a guild now.”
“Why?”
“Because there are more things to lose than to gain. At least, that was the case for me. I ran away from that woman and came all the way here. Well, I ended up like this though.”
The guy glared as he had noticed something in Sean’s tone.
“Make it clear. The girl? Or the guild?”
Sean said bitterly, “She was famous in Act Two, Stage Two, and you must know her.”
The guy paused before finally saying one name, “...Mary?”
Sean shuddered as soon as he heard that name again.
“Yes.”
The guy suddenly shouted, “Where can I find her? Mary! I want to see Mary!”
***
A woman appeared on the street with a small Kciphos monster in her arms, patting its fluffy fur with one hand. No one stopped or criticized her for treating monsters like pets. From the beginning, she was someone whom they would have never talked to or looked at. When she disappeared into the guild’s main building, people began to show up on the streets again. It felt like time had stopped when she had appeared.
Inside the main building, the guild leader, who governed the entire guild, was no different from the ordinary Awakened to her. His dignified look vanished temporarily, and only the muscles under his eyes twitched due to extreme tension.
The woman said, “Where did you learn manners like that? You should come.”
The guild leader stuttered, “I’m… I’m sorry… There is too much work to do…”
“It’s good that you are busy, but shouldn’t you have more evident results then?” the woman asked sharply.
The woman’s hand, which was stroking a small creature, suddenly rose up to the level of the man’s neck. In a blink of an eye, she was grabbing the guild leader’s neck, and he was out of breath.
“How come you are weaker than this baby?” she snarled.
He gasped, “Keub….”
“Isn’t there anything that comes to your mind when you see this kid or me?”
The woman’s grasp was too strong for the guild leader to reply.
She continued, “I saw your men at the pub.”
“N… Now…”
She smirked and said, “Joo-Hwan. Hey, Seong Joo-Hwan. This is really your last chance. You can do better than this, or do you actually want me to make that happen? I’m sick and tired of being a villain.”
It was more frightening than dying to the guild leader. The woman sighed, looking at him who was trembling in fear. Not just him, but everyone on the stage was afraid of her. However, the only thing she was scared of was… the case if Seon-Hu couldn’t wake up from the seal.
[About the Intruder of the Sealed Maruka Clan (Explorer Reward)]
The woman… No, Woo Yeon-Hee opened the window again and hoped desperately.
Are you awake? Please… You should, Seon-Hu…
1. Evil spirits or ghosts that rob graves and feed on dead bodies. ☜