Chapter 2) Wet Land
The wind was blowing everywhere . The river shook and flooded . Water overflowed and made the ground even wetter .
Shwaaaaah!
Showers of rain fell from the clouds .
“Now I’ve called them so I just need to wait and see what changes . ”
Weed waited with Yellowy as rain fell . In Royal Road it was very refreshing and fun to run around in the pouring rain . It was common to see hunting parties move soaking wet from the rain .
Taverns and restaurants were crowded on rainy days but there were still beginners hunting in the vicinity of the gates . The rain falling on people engaged in business at the market or conversing around the fountain gave the city a romantic aura .
-How fascinating, fascinating .
– Shall we stop and go back?
-No, let’s continue to play here . There is also delicious food .
Various species of plants and grass grew and spread through the swamp as the fairies played . The trees absorbed a lot of moisture through their roots and shot upwards . The shade of many trees caused lengthy shadows to stretch out .
The spirits played on the dry land while water creatures swam calmly . Reed fields forms and unknown flowers bloomed . Leaves on lush, overgrown trees turned red and fell to the ground . And snowflakes began falling from the sky .
“Winter has already come here . ”
By the time the snow finished falling, sprouts started to rise from the land . Once again the hot sun shone, leaves fell and it snowed . The sun, rain, snow and leaves turned into a scrambled mess! Strange things like this often occurred around the fairies .
A long time was required for a swamp to form naturally but this period was reduced due to the fairies’ magic . There were at least 200 changing of the seasons . It quickly became impossible to fathom how many lives the plants in the swamp had lived .
“Ummoooooo . ”
A swamp deep enough to reach Weed and Yellowy’s waist then they were standing on the rocks was formed . The appearance of the flowers blooming in the swamp was beautiful .
“The vitality of nature is showing so this seems to be a fairly decent work . ”
The wide land had changed into a swamp but it wasn’t that bad after seeing the animals and plants living there . Numerous small life forms that he didn’t know the name of sat on leaves and swam in the water . A small water channel ran through the swamp that had fish skipping in it .
Birds cried out in the clear sky over the swamp . The surrounding birds flocked as the swamp was formed . The land in the whole vicinity shook . The rocks mobilized by Dirtman quickly formed layers of sandstone . The sandstone layers spread in all directions and completely changed the terrain of this place .
Hills formed the boundaries of the swamp . Weed marked a place where he would grow grapes later . The sandstone mountain area around the river and swamp didn’t stop there . Water flowed from the sandstone mountains and flowers and grass grew . The water fell from a high place and created a pool of water .
“This has become a completely useless piece of land . ”
Weed thought it was a waste despite the land not belonging to the Arpen Kingdom . The sandstone gave an view that was like art but the problem was that he couldn’t collect taxes from it .
The changes caused by the fairies continued . Animals like crocodiles, aquatic insects and birds roamed . Beautiful yellow butterflies flew around the flowers blooming in the swamp . Wind blew through the leaves and birds and animals cried out . The music of nature flowed through this land .
-Please set the name of the new sculpture .“This is… . Land filled with Despair, Lamentation and Regret . ”
-Land filled with Despair, Lamentation and Regret is correct?This name seemed too transparent .
‘A little… . something simple and not so poetic should be fine . ’
He decided to change the name of the nature sculpture .
“No . I’ve already committed so there is no choice . The name will be Wet Land . ”
-Wet Land is correct?“That’s right . ”
Ddiring!
-Nature’s Magnum Opus!Wet Land has been completed . A work where the sculptor took a century to form the nature sculpting!A swamp filled with life . A sandstone area has been carved .
The sculptor knows how to use the power of nature to grow difficult and unusual trees from the fairies and the elves . The number of animal and plant species living here is at the scale of a continent .
This is a precious gift that the sculptor has returned to nature .
Artistic Value: 8,142
Special Options: Wet Land has given birth to new species of plants and animals .
Those who visit here will have their health and mana increased by 50% for one week .
All stats increased by 19 .
Resistance to infectious diseases and poison has permanently increased by 1% .
The growth rate of animals in the surrounding area has been sped up .
All nature in the surrounding area will be purified .
Current number of Nature Magnum Opus created: 1 -The skill proficiency of Sculpting has improved . -The skill proficiency of Handicraft has improved .
-Fame has increased by 4,093 .
-Art stat has increased by 19 .
-Wisdom has increased by 7 .
-Intelligence has increased by 9 .
-Courage has increased by 3 .
-Affinity to Nature has increased by 49 .
-All stats will gain an additional 3 points for making a Magnum Opus sculpture .
-Elves and Fairies will become friendlier .
He could feel the joy of being a sculptor every time a Magnum Opus was created . Weed had stacked up a lot of stats but the 1~2 points he got for every sculpture made a difference in battle .
“A sculpture offered to the land…”
Nevertheless, Weed felt regret about the loss of money .
“I created a sculpture in the north with the help of the fairies . ”
“It was a success . Nothing seems impossible for a sculptor like you . ”
“Miracles can be created with the hands of a sculptor . I only thought about art when creating a natural ecosystem . ”
Weed reported the quest in Rhodium .
Ddiring!
-Sculpting that has been Shaped over a Long Time has been completed . The great sculptor Weed has revealed his genius in many areas . His works serve to defend justice and sometimes even represents an area . -Fame has increased by 1,600 . -The skill proficiency of Sculpting has improved . -Your evaluation in the Sculptor’s Guild has improved .“Huhu . ”
Weed had a light smile on his face .
‘If I continue succeeding like this then I will obtain the final sculpting technique and a large sum of money . One day I will stop counting every bit of money that comes in and will be able to spend it…’
“Uweeeeek . ”
He couldn’t repress a rotten smile at the thought . The old man smiled brightly .
“If you have this degree of proficiency then I can talk about it . All the requests up to now was to test your qualifications . How well do you know the history of the Versailles Continent?”
“A little… . I know . ”
“Numerous adventurers have attempted to clear the continent’s 8th labyrinth…”
“Are you talking about the crazy Roderick’s Labyrinth where demons live?”
“You know what I’m talking about . As expected from a genius sculptor, you know about the history of the continent . ”
Weed had no choice but to be aware of it .
‘The continent’s 8th labyrinth . A place I absolutely can’t go to . ’
It was a completely dangerous place . The 8th labyrinth had been famous since the early days of Royal Road .
-Entering means death .
-Instantly .
-Maximum 1 minute .
All residents and people passing by the 8th labyrinth would shake their heads . The requests related to it didn’t turn out well .
“My son entered Roderick’s Labyrinth…my son was a Royal Knight of the Norton Kingdom . I haven’t seen him after that day . ”
The user asked .
“Do you want me to find your son?”
“Hyu, what? My son’s life ended there . Well, I just gave up . ”
The residents were resigned about anything related to the 8th labyrinth . However the users couldn’t help their curiosity .
“I’ll go . A party of this standard isn’t common on the continent . ”
When not much time had passed since Royal Road opened, a famous party of level 200 users entered Roderick’s Labyrinth . They had already cleared other dangerous and high level dungeons . But they couldn’t help feeling greed at getting their names know for this challenging and highly difficult adventure . Each user had a certain amount of ability and was filled with confidence .
And the result was extermination!
-Failed . We all died in the vicinity of the 1st underground floor .
The standard of users continued to rise as time passed and parties kept on challenging it . Level 300 and even level 400 parties died . The scary thing was that once they entered the labyrinth, it wasn’t easy to get out alive .
Not only did the 8th labyrinth have an large number of traps, the monsters in Roderick’s Labyrinth were abnormally high levelled . Furthermore, last time Roderick’s Guild had been challenged by a mid-sized guild called Morningstar .
A staggering 600 people entered and were all killed! The Morningstar guild failed the challenge, had internal conflicts and lost the city they ruled .
“Roderick’s Labyrinth seems to be too difficult for me . ”
“No . So far you’ve accomplished all your task perfectly so I believe in you . ”
-It isn’t possible to postpone or give up requests related to radiant beauty in the middle . Continue .“The magician Roderick was an unusual person . He had the hobby of collecting different types of things and also really liked art . ”
Weed thought it was too unreasonable but he still listened intently to the valuable information about Roderick’s Labyrinth .
“Roderick was a very strong magician and had a lot of curiosity . He was a genius who developed new spells and combined various types of magic . He was also interested in the sculptor’s research on how to express radiant beauty . ”
The old gave a long explanation .
Roderick drank alcohol with sculptors and listened to their worries . There was significant progress on the research to express radiant beauty . Of course, the contents of that information was secret and only known to the participants and Roderick .
“The sculptors studied out to express radiant beauty for a long time . Now there isn’t anybody left who knows the results of that study . Roderick was full of curiosity and lost control of something he summoned…it was very unfortunate . ”
Originally Weed was very similar . He became arrogant and proud and walked the path to ruin .
‘I made the worst choice when buying the 200 won more expensive salt . ’
The old gave took a deep sigh .
“He summoned a devil to study its power but a fight spread . ”
“D-devil…”
“Roderick who studied magic realized he couldn’t win and closed off the dungeon to the outside . People could enter but it isn’t possible for them to leave…”
A video was shown in front of Weed .
An old magician and devil fighting .
A terrible magic exploded from the staff every time the magician chanted a spell . The devil was frozen and burned with hellfire . Its body had a long tail and black devil wings . Despite being attacked by terrible high ranking magic, it didn’t receive any large wounds .
The magician Roderick had a lot of human knights guarding him . A battle occurred and they greeted death as devil children were summoned . The odds gradually tilted until Roderick activated defence magic installed beforehand .
“With the force of the great mana gathered here, rearrange this distorted space . Make this devil unable to forever enter the human world or go back to hell . ”
“It can’t be . Kueeeek!”
Roderick lost his life to the devil .
And the space in the dungeon distorted due to his spell . If someone walked down a straight path then they would go to the wrong place . Countless number of side roads would appear and some would suddenly go down to the 2nd floor .
No one could find a door that led out of the dungeon . Once inside the labyrinth, it wasn’t possible to find a way out and people would die from the demons or traps . From that day onwards, anyone who entered the labyrinth wouldn’t be able to find the way out .
Roderick’s Labyrinth was made with unique magic, making it huge and flashy . Roderick had originally built it underneath a ruined royal palace .
Weed remembered the broadcast he watched of the Morningstar Guild fighting in the labyrinth .
‘The video of them fighting with the demons was beautiful . The ratings were also quite high . ’
To be exact, it showed the Morningstar Guild dying against a cool backdrop . Furthermore, there was Roderick’s welcome! The labyrinth was full of all sorts of monsters and challenges .
The reason for their presence was to reduce health . And there was a huge problem even when they disappeared after being killed .
‘They don’t drop any items… . it really is the worst type of monster . ’
The mutated monsters that Roderick studied were also freed and they had special magic to protect themselves .
It was a wide and endless labyrinth of despair and death! He got that feeling just from watching the video of Roderick’s Labyrinth . Even if someone managed to conquer the labyrinth, the biggest problem was coming outside .
If Weed died then his skill proficiency would fall and he would fail the final secret technique quest . If he brought the sculptural lifeforms then it would mean complete death .
He could revive them again but it was the end if he couldn’t get out . Weed’s sculptural lifeforms could be permanently lost .
Weed frowned .
“Is it necessary to study Roderick’s research records in order to express radiant beauty?”
“Understand this . You have to look at the records in order to know what the sculptors have pursued . And keep this in mind . You shouldn’t leave it too late . If someone else finds the research records first then there is a possibility they could escape the labyrinth with it . ”
Ddiring!
-Roderick’s LabyrinthThe lower devil Montus and his subordinates have been trapped in the labyrinth . They are eager to exit into the world and it is inevitable to encounter them if you enter the labyrinth .Reading Roderick’s research records will lead to the next quest .
Level of Difficulty: Final Secret Sculpting Technique Quest
Quest Restrictions: The quest will fail if you die .
Be the first to conquer Roderick’s Labyrinth .
“Although I wish to achieve the sculptors’ desires… . ”
Before Weed could finish talking…
“It will be dangerous but please come back safely .
-The quest has been given .The quest was forcibly given to him! Weed was full of thoughts as he went out to the streets of Rhodium .
‘I had expected that this request would be difficult to some degree . ’
He had travelled a great distance and trained Radiant Sword for the final secret sculpting technique .
‘It was all to make me stronger . ’
So far the quests hadn’t been that bad . Even though the quest to cause disasters was risky, there was still a high chance of survival . Furthermore, he could select and prepare the type of disaster .
Travelling as a hummingbird just required sightseeing while the Radiant Sword quest could be overcome with effort . There was a fixed date but Weed had raised Radiant Sword to the required level with one week left .
He had persisted so much that he even reduced the number of times he went to the toilet in a day . Working hard was Weed’s speciality but Roderick’s Labyrinth quest was too risky .
‘This time there is a really high chance that I will fail and lose everything . ’
Weed’s chest was tight with tension . In recent times, he hadn’t completed a really difficult quest . The Class Master Quest was for sculptors so he could just go with the flow .
‘I expected that I would be successful before I started most of them . And even if I failed, I would’ve been able to try again . ’
Weed had become a legend from his time in Continent of Magic . It was because he achieved miracle like adventures that seemed impossible . However, the difficult of this final secret sculpting technique quest was ridiculously high . Weed’s thoughts went in various directions before he nodded .
“If I don’t prepare properly then I really will fail this quest . I also can’t postpone it too long . ”
For the moment, other users hadn’t been able to conquer Roderick’s Labyrinth . The labyrinth was known as a deadly place so many adventurers were willing to go there . But if someone cleared Roderick’s Labyrinth then the final secret sculpting technique quest would disappear .
“Obtain the last secret technique before the devil Montus runs away and the Central Continent war reaches the north . ”
The work he had to do in the future was boundless . He might feel more at ease if he managed to get the final secret technique . Either despair or pleasure would be at the end of the tunnel . It was true that you reap what you sow in life, but effort also played a large role .
“Indeed, I’m not the son of a rich family . ”
Weed headed towards the Freya Church in Somren Liberty City . He needed to bring the maximum number of troops into the labyrinth .
“If our contribution increases a bit more then we can invite a paladin . ”
“Then it will be possible to go to the thieve’s lair?”
“Of course . That’s why we’ve been doing quests involved with the Freya Church . We can obtain the necessary equipment from hunting . ”
The headquarters of the Freya Church in Somren Liberty City was crowded with players . This place hadn’t received much damage from the war in the Britten Alliance Kingdom .
“Please guide me to the High Priest . ”
“You have come a long way . I’ll guide you immediately . ”
The guards and priests protected the entrance recognized Weed . And they immediately showed him to the High Priest .