Chapter 65 - Rookie’s Battleground (3) (1/2)

Rookie’s Battleground (3)

[You have entered the Rookie’s Battleground.]

[Protect yourself from the covetous touch of your partner.]

I quietly opened my eyes and gazed up, greeted by a cloudless sky and a bright sun. I knew that it was all fake. ‘Still nice though. I haven’t seen the sky in months.’ Even the phony sun was a comfort to see, the light pleasant on my skin. I took in a deep breath and savored the fresh air, much different from the stagnant air of the dungeon or Jinma’s Tower, or even the cozy air of the store and the sweet air of the Garden of Nak. It felt refreshing to breathe it in, giving me enough energy to feel like I was prepared to wage an epic battle.

‘Let’s keep moving.’ The guidelines here were simple, almost too much so. I just had to stay alive here for twelve hours, and then I could leave. This place was much different than the dungeon or the tower. There was nothing to do here, no end or purpose.

‘Although I don’t know if just leaving this place would be enough.’ Rain had said the elves could leave to this place and would return periodically. ‘Will I too return to this place because I will grow to miss it? No, of course not.’ Even though its original purpose may have faded, every elf was still tied to the Rookie’s Battlefield, by its power to draw all elves to it.

Absolute proposition.

That was the price to be paid for using such power, whether it be through magic, technology, or divine intervention. The elves had entered this cage to protect their souls, and as I had evolved into a Crimson Elf, I became caught up in it as well. I would probably be required to return to this place every once in a while myself. ‘It’s not too bad, though.’ I was in danger everywhere I went anyway, so at the very least, training in more diverse environments would probably be advantageous.

‘Well, I can’t afford to stand still here.’ An hour had passed. I had to get to work in this world. Killing, predating and growing. The environment here would probably be more unpredictable than that of the Black Palace or the tower.

“Go away, you monster!” I heard a scream ring out across the plains, the voice coming from further ahead. Far ahead was a massive bull, much larger than I had been when I was a bugbear. It had red leather-like skin, with black lines scrawled over it like a tattoo. Over its face, I could see a hazy human face, distorted by pain. It was a familiar face, surprisingly enough. But it took me a second to recognize it. ‘Wait, wasn’t that…?’ It looked like the third-generation Korean conglomerate I had read about in the news. I think they were in an accident caused by drinking and had quickly vanished from the mainstream.

[Ahhhhhhhhh!]

A noise that directly wormed into my brain and afflicted me with pain rang out. ‘Madness noise!’ It was a skill I had as well, but it wasn’t particularly useful in dungeons. It was a great hindrance in battle, and the whole party would suffer damage from an enemy that used it. But in using it, there was a high likelihood you would catch your own teammates in the attack and alert enemies to your presence.

“Get away! Go find your partner!”

[Gwooooaaah!]

The words of the elf further enraged the monster, who especially seemed aggravated by the word partner. ‘That solves that mystery.’ This monster appeared to be the result of an Earthling soul transforming. I wondered where the monster’s body had come from, but I figured that wasn’t important right now. From what I could tell, though, these two weren’t partners. The elf being attacked was female, whereas the monster was male. From my understanding, they couldn’t be partners.

‘But then why is he attacking this elf? Is it attacking all elves indiscriminately because it became a monster? Does it have no sense of reason left, or can this monster take over any elf’s body if it destroys their soul?’ There were too many things I didn’t know. I needed to gather more information, and perhaps the best way to do that would be to get involved. After all, was there any chance this monster could beat me? Or that this elf would catch me off guard? ‘No, there isn’t.’

I pushed any worries out of my mind, rushing forward. The bells hanging about my waist with a string shook and silently rang out. They were able to raise the alarm if someone tried to surprise me and could be used to narrow the distance. The skill was at a low level still, so it wasn’t possible to leap across a large distance at once, but it, fortunately, had a short recharge time so I could use them successively. This was probably one of my most useful skills, especially now that the amount of mana I had increased significantly.

[Kagagak!]

After the fifth jump, I landed upon the monster’s head. With a flurry of blows, utilizing my power attack skill, and my new speed, I penetrated straight through the monster’s head and its wide-open jaw with my Blood Shadow before it could continue making that annoying sound. The elf, having been only seconds away from being devoured, looked up at me with wide-open eyes. She was a stunning woman with strong features and tied-back blonde hair. Still, she wasn’t much to look at compared to L.

“Is it…?”

“Quiet!”

[Ah…ah….ah…]

With both hands grabbing onto the handle of Blood Shadow, I slid it out of the monster’s head while simultaneously injecting mana into it. Flames soon consumed the monster’s head; its head cleaved in half.

[Huh…uh….!]