Chapter 89: Chapter 89 - Flame of Life (5)
Chapter 89 . Flame of Life (5)
For the two players, Yeon-woo’s offer came as welcome rain after a long drought .
“We want to survive tog—”
“I wanna live! No, I have to live! Please, I’ll do anything if you spare my life!”
Before one could even speak properly, the other jumped up from his seated position and shouted at Yeon-woo .
The one who hadn’t finished his sentence looked at the other one with his eyes wide open as if he couldn’t believe what just happened .
The two of them were best friends .
He was going to ask for a way for both of them to survive, but just like that, his friend shattered his hope .
He could see his friend’s apologetic eyes .
And that was the last thing he saw .
*Puck*
Yeon-woo ruthlessly got rid of the silent one and lightly shook off the blood from Magic Bayonet .
He turned towards the remaining one as he put his bayonet back in its sheath .
“You said you’ll do anything?”
“Uhh… yes! Please don’t kill me, I have a child… . ”
Yeon-woo extended his hand and stopped him from speaking .
He didn’t want to hear his story . If he had to listen to every player’s story in The Tower, he’d never be able to proceed .
“You know those guys who tipped you off about my location? Go and tell them right now . If this happens one more time, I will make sure they are wiped from existence . ”
The player then asked with a shaky voice as if he couldn’t believe his ears .
“Oh, umm, is that it?”
“Why? Should I add something else?”
“Oh, no, definitely not! I’ll be sure to tell them—I mean, warn them! Don’t you worry about a thing!”
The player then turned tails and ran away, afraid Yeon-woo would change his mind .
*Sreuk*
As soon as the player was out of sight, Nol appeared dimly over Yeon-woo’s head .
“Follow him . ”
After nodding, Nol once again vanished into thin air .
From this point on, Nol would follow behind the player and find out who spread the information about him .
In the first place, Yeon-woo had no intention of letting those who messed with him live . In order to prevent future problems from recurring, he had to nip it in the bud and root out the source all at once .
Although the fact that his Spirit Familiars grew weaker when going too far from him was a bit problematic, he had already taken it into account when feeding Nol with Spirit Beads .
“I bet they’re still not any weaker than an ordinary player . ’
Yeon-woo took a glance around the forest .
The gray mist had already lifted, revealing a clear view of the entire forest .
The forest was an absolute mess .
There were puddles of blood and shredded pieces of flesh as well as fallen trees and burnt marks scattered everywhere along the ground .
The majority of the corpses were missing at least an arm or a leg, and some were even missing their entire upper half . The more relatively intact corpses still had twisted limbs or broken necks .
Yeon-woo noticed there was one thing all the corpses had in common despite their differences in shape .
It was that all of them, or at least those who still had their head, had died with horrified expressions on their faces .
From the first to the last players he killed, they all died with the same expression .
“I didn’t notice there were these many players . ”
Yeon-woo clicked his tongue when he noticed the number of souls he had collected from this battle .
It was a total of 382 players .
Though he called this event a ‘battle’, it was more of a merciless massacre .
From start to finish, the battle had been completely one-sided .
Boo had created the gray mist, thwarting the clan union’s siege; Nol and Ka launched series of surprise attacks while hiding behind the mist; and Yeon-woo, leisurely following from behind, had finished off the remaining players .
A simple but effective strategy .
However, Yeon-woo felt something amiss…
‘I don’t feel anything . ’
Despite having killed so many players, he didn’t feel anything .
The words one of the players spat out still lingered in his ears…
You call yourself a human?
However,
‘I’ve heard that too many times back in Africa . ’
He felt that he did what he had to .
Plus, it was they who had attacked him in the first place . Everything he did was an act of self-defense .
He wondered if he always had been this kind of person, or if it was The Tower that made him like this .
However, the fact was, it was because of this personality that he had received his code name, ‘Cain’ .
‘I don’t think it’s any good . ’
Yeon-woo converted all the souls he collected into Spirit Beads and handed them out to the rest of his Spirit Familiars .
‘Let’s not think about this . I’ll have to go through this a lot later on, and I can’t let these thoughts distract me . ’
Yeon-woo then jumped into the air .
He had spent too much time dealing with these players . He had to go to get the last materials needed for the vessel for the Flame of Life as soon as possible .
Starlight Pub, City of Barrack .
“They should be coming back at any moment now . ”
The bartender narrowed his eyes as he placed a dry cup on the shelf .
Several hours had passed since he had provided the clans staying in the city with the information regarding The Hoarder .
Due to preparations for the upcoming war, there was a great number of clans gathered inside the city . Thanks to this, he had made quite a lot of money by selling the information .
Some small clans that could not afford to buy the information with money, had even signed a contract stipulating they would share part of their loot .
Therefore, this hunt was a very important deal for the Starlight Pub, as well as for the bartender himself .
‘Even if the hunt fails, that fact alone would serve as indicative to the Hoarder’s strength . That kind of information also sells well . ’
In any case, he was on the profiting side .
Just then,
*Kwang*
The door suddenly swung open with a loud thump .
Just from this, the bartender could already tell the results .
‘Looks like they failed . ’
If they had succeeded, they would have come into the pub with swagger .
And sure enough, a player came walking in completely covered in dried blood and dust .
His name was Shum, he was the leader of a clan named Lante .
Glaring furiously at the bartender, Shum slowly walked towards him .
“You son of a…!”
But the bartender beckoned with his finger . Then, five large men sitting at a table in the corner stood up from their seats .
They were players he had hired to get rid of those who came to the pub to cause trouble .
Realizing the bartender’s intention, Shum flinched and turned around to make a run for it .
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But at that moment, he noticed a presence from above his head . When he looked up, there was the monster he had seen back in the forest, Nol .
Shum screamed out loud and collapsed on the floor . The bartender and the five players stopped approaching Shum and stood there with a puzzled look .
But before they could even understand the situation, Nol combined his dark energy with the Flame Infusion skill Yeon-woo had prepared beforehand .
*Kwang*
And it created an explosion that not only blew up everything inside the pub but also incinerated several nearby buildings .
Thanks to this incident, the entire city of Barrack was thrown into chaos by the sudden act of terrorism .
Three days later, Yeon-woo returned to the Phoenix’s nest .
『It took you longer than I had presumed . 』
said the Phoenix in a surprised tone .
Yeon-woo answered with a bitter laugh .
“A lot of people came to bothering me . ”
『It looks like you got yourself into some troubles . 』
Yeon-woo only gave a nod as the answer .
After annihilating the clan union, the residents of the 11th floor became warier of Yeon-woo .
Some of the clans that had suffered serious damage from the hunt set a price on his head .
Because of this, Yeon-woo had to get rid of a few more groups of players whilst heading towards the dungeon .
‘Well, they did make great feed for the Spirit Familiars . ’
Not only that, there was another reason he couldn’t return earlier .
“And that Manticore, it was harder than I thought it would be . I didn’t know there would be a whole colony of them in that dungeon . ”
『I see . It can be a problem that they live in packs . I also forgot about it . 』
Even after entering the dungeon, things were just as problematic as before .
Thanks to his Spirit Familiars, reaching the boss room didn’t pose much difficulty . The real problem began after he entered the boss room .
Upon entering the room, he saw one male Manticore with around 20 female Manticores and over a hundred younger ones beneath him .
His brother also described in his diary that Manticores lived in families, but nothing about the family being this huge .
‘Maybe they just multiplied . ’
Wherever the extra number came from, it was still a fact that he had to deal with them all by himself .
However,
‘Not everything’s so bad . Rather, it was quite profitable . ’
Ever since the Tutorial’s Inner Area up until now, Yeon-woo had never fought with all his might .
He had been agonizing over a way to confirm how strong he had become, especially after acquiring Despair of Black King and Aegis .
‘I’ve tried using my skills while training with the spirits, but I can’t tell how strong I’ve become just from that . ’
But this time it was different . He had his Spirit Familiars deal with females and the little ones, while he himself engaged in an all-out fight with the male Manticore .
Yeon-woo had faced several life-threatening dangers during the battle . Especially near the end of the fight when he was struck with the aftereffects of Combat Will, his connection with Aegis had suddenly disappeared, almost allowing a critical hit from the Manticore .
But whenever he overcame such dangers, he felt a surge of thrill rushing down his body .
He was finally able to have confidence in how strong he had become .
‘Although, it ended up giving me tons of work to do . ’
Yeon-woo recalled his sword, Vigrid, the blade of which became very dull from the fight .
Not just the sword, but his other artifacts also required some degree of mending .
He thought he might have to go back and grab his hammer pretty soon .
‘The biggest change from the fight occurred with the Spirit Familiars . ’
Yeon-woo had lost six of the ten Spirit Familiars in that fight . He felt their connection disappearing while he was in battle . And when he tried summoning them again, nothing happened .
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However, he didn’t get frustrated at the loss . Because the surviving spirits grew just as stronger .
Thanks to this, Boo, Nol, and Ka were able to reach the maximum level of growth for a Spirit Familiar .
Those who used to be powerless ghosts, were now three giant monsters emitting enormous amounts of powerful aura . Even Yeon-woo himself flinched whenever they came near him .
『It looks like you have gotten everything you wanted . 』
“And it’s all thanks to you . ”
『I am glad to hear that . 』
The Phoenix burst into laughter . She seemed to be very pleased with his words .
『Now, shall we start?』
“Yes, ma’am . ”
Yeon-woo put down a pouch he was carrying on his shoulder onto the floor .
The pouch then opened by itself, and the materials stored inside flew out from the pouch .
『It looks like you’ve selected only the best ingredients . These will make a fine vessel . 』
[Hidden quest (Flame of Life) completed . ]
[You have made an achievement that is not easily accomplished . Additional Karma will be provided . ]
[You have acquired 5,000 Karma . ]
[You have acquired 3,000 additional Karma . ]
[You have received ‘Phoenix’s favor’ . ]
[Intimacy with the Phoenix has increased . Chirpy has noticed the change and had become very pleased . ]
[Affinity towards fire element has increased by 30 . ]
[Affinity towards wind element has increased by 30 . ]
[The effects of the contract you formed with a Legendary Beast will be enhanced . All Mythical Beasts including Demonic Beasts will now be less vigilant towards you, and become very friendly with you]
[Phoenix has begun the production of ‘Flame of Life’ . ]
*Whoosh*
The materials that were floating up in the air started to combust, producing a white flame .
The Holy Flame, the embodiment of the Phoenix .
One by one, the flame consumed the offerings while emitting a sacred energy .
When all the materials were on fire, they gathered in the center, merging into one big flame .
[‘Flame of Life (Superior)’ has been created . ]
[You have acquired ‘Flame of Life (Superior)’ . ]
『It has been a long time since I have created a Flame of Life of this quality . What do you think?』
The Phoenix said proudly .
But when she looked back at Yeon-woo, he was staring at the flame with a blank look .
The Flame of Life
Sometimes brilliant gold, sometimes bright red, ocean blue, turquoise green, jet black, and many other colors .
And Yeon-woo watched the colors change with his mouth agape .
He felt his mind clearing up .
Also, he felt the memories buried somewhere deep inside his mind suddenly rising to the surface once again .
The memories of those warm days . The memories of the past when he knew how to laugh so brightly… .
And then… In all those memories, his twin brother was there .
The one who looked just like him, but unlike him, had such a bright personality .
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Yeon-woo stared into the flame for a while, belatedly realizing the current situation and quickly wiping his eyes with his sleeves .
There were some tears, which he didn’t even notice coming out, welled up in his eyes .
“…I’m sorry . I didn’t mean to make a scene . ”
『It is okay . It was a great opportunity to know that you, who seems to have an ice-cold heart, in fact, have a warm heart just like anyone else . 』
The Phoenix said as she looked interestedly at Yeon-woo .
『This holy flame symbolizes life . And it shows to those who look at the flame what they think life is to them . And to you, human, it seems like your life consists of past memories . 』
There was even a feeling of warmth coming from the Phoenix’s voice .
『Do not be afraid, for I do not know what you have seen from the flame . But what I do know is that the memories of yours, they will become a sure and steadfast anchor against the waves of hardships awaiting in your life . So human, do not lose those memories . 』
“Thank you for your kind words . ”
『It is my pleasure that I could say this to the human that has saved my child . 』
Then, the Phoenix brought Yeon-woo’s egg she had been keeping safe in her nest .
But at the same time, Chirpy came running as she flapped her tiny wings .
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『My youngest child has grown very fond of your egg . It seems like she is sad to part with her friend . 』
Yeon-woo couldn’t help but laugh as he saw Chirpy holding onto the egg with her wings . trying not to let it go .
Yeon-woo knew that Chirpy and his beast egg had already become special friends .
He didn’t know why he knew it .
Perhaps the connection with her allowed him to know her feelings .
So, he felt sorry that he had to separate . Drops of tears fell from Chirpy’s eyes .
‘I’ll have to come to visit her often even after clearing the 11th floor . ’
While Yeon-woo was distracted by his thoughts, the Flame of Life suddenly drew near to the egg .
And when it came into contact with the egg, the flame scattered into different pieces and, one by one, began to sink into the egg .
The egg then grew bigger and bigger the more pieces it absorbed . The patterns on the egg also took on a vivid and distinct color .
Yeon-woo could feel the link between him and the eggs becoming clearer, stronger, and thicker . The feeling of great joy the egg was feeling right now was conveyed to his heart .
And by the time the egg finished absorbing all the pieces of flame, it grew until it was two meters tall, even bigger than Yeon-woo .
『It is a very rare case for an egg to grow this big . Could it be a Mythical Dragon?』
The egg then became covered in a bright light .
It also began to tremble as if the beast was trying to break out of its shell .
Then,
*Whoosh*
The bright light suddenly died down as if it had never happened .
“…What happened?”
『…What happened?』
At the unbelievable situation, Yeon-woo and the Phoenix muttered the same words simultaneously .
The egg did not hatch .
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