Chapter 6 - Killing in the Nigh (1/2)

That place had just been an illusion, and Woohyuk had been aware of it from the very beginning.

‘It’s a technique used by high level Devils.’

Illusion spells that would show you repressed and unwanted memories of your past or future in order to crush your spirit. To break it, one would need an indomitable will.

Whether or not your Intelligence or Spirit stats were high didn’t matter. You could only overcome it with a strong belief in oneself.

As Woohyuk casually emerged from the illusory world, Adakar spoke to him.

[Excellent, one with a strong will. Although there technically are a few more tests, we can go ahead and skip them.]

Although it had only been a brief evaluation, Adakar was able to confidently judge his qualifications due to his vast experience of meeting many individuals over the years.

‘He is so similar to that guy.’

There had once been a man who had reigned over the entire Dragon species.

[Carlos]

He had gathered all the tokens which had been hidden across God's historical site and as a result of it obtained the hidden class, Dragon lord.

Although he later died a pathetic death due to a betrayal, his inheritance remained.

‘Perhaps this human can reach his level.’

[I have a task for you, if you were to succeed, you could gain control over the entire Dragon race]

“What is it?”

[Collect the 9 Dragon tokens and release us from the restrictions imposed on us by the Gods]

Woohyuk took a moment to think things through, surprised by this unexpected turn of events.

‘Control over the Dragons.’

Woohyuk had certainly heard about the special class, Dragon Lord, but had never encountered anyone who had obtained it.

Ivanov had only managed to tame a Red dragon.

‘This is an incredible opportunity.’

If all the dragons became his subordinates, his accession to the Divine throne would be faster than anyone else.

Still, it could also prove problematic. He had no advance information as to where to find the nine tokens or how long that could even take.

That was a serious inconvenience for Woohyuk who was constantly in a race against time.

‘Well, let’s figure it out as we go along.’

The upside was simply too attractive to ignore, so he had to take up the challenge. It was this mindset that had allowed him to achieve all that he had.

“I accept.”

A white text appeared in his mind upon his answer.

[Acquired title ‘Legendary Explorer’.]

[20% increase in Item drop rate from monsters.]

[20% increase in Perception and Speed within a Historical site]

It wasn’t a title which he thought could be acquired in this forest. Normally you could obtain ones like Goblin Slayer, Human Hunter or Novice Explorer.

[Also, take this.]

It was the reward for passing the test.

“Are there more eggs?”

[The rest are for future adventurers. Although I am inclined to give them all to you, I am duty bound to follow the instructions of the Creator.]

Woohyuk became quite annoyed at the thought of it. In this way Ivanov could still make his way up here and obtain an egg.

‘Nothing I can do about it.’

It wasn’t like he could defeat the Gold dragon before him, nor was he willing to stay here and wait for Ivanov to make an appearance.

Woohyuk placed the dragon egg in his Sage’s Pouch, and turned around as he made his way out of the cave.

‘I will be going ahead first.’

He would tame his own dragon even before Ivanov did and destroy his territory

Although it hadn’t gone as expected as he wasn’t able to prevent Ivanov from obtaining his dragon, it had still been a fortunate encounter, and he felt he had profited instead.

* * *

A crescent moon hung in the night sky. The base camp was as silent as a dead rat

Besides the crackling of the fireplace in the center, there was no other movement.

‘Just as I expected.’

Jang Taeseok nodded to himself, as he examined the situation from behind a bush.

He had found this location earlier in the afternoon, when the monster attack was already underway.

‘There was this one guy who fought well.’

Still, except for him, the rest were nothing special. The assault of the large Red worms had caused most of them to become scared stiff, not even participating in the battle and only watching from the backline.

‘It’ll be a piece of cake to crush these weak players.’

Jang Taeseok had his own unique story as to how he became a wanderer.

On the very first night they had been transported here, there was a dispute in their camp, and it actually led to someone extinguishing their central campfire.

After that, it had been impossible to light it once more. All the supplies in the camp like tents and cooking utensils disappeared.

‘I will make this my new home.’

There was no rule against changing base camps. Eve had already mentioned that she was unwilling to interfere in matters between adventurers and that there wasn’t any penalty for murder.

So he came up with a plan. In the middle of the night he was to move in and wipe out the adventurers in this other camp.

‘Killing all the women would be a bit wasteful…’

Afterall there were several women that would prove useful as outlets for their sexual desires. He’d occupy it first and then deal with the specifics, Jang Taeseok thought to himself as he snapped back to reality and gestured to his group.

‘Get ready, we are going in.’

His subordinates nervously followed behind Jang Taeseok. After checking to make sure there wasn’t any scout, they broke into their first tent.

‘They must all be sleeping and haven't noticed anything.’

The campfire would ensure that there were no monster attacks during the night, so it was natural for the base camp to have let their guards down.

Jang Taeseok sported an evil grin as he looked into the tent, but his expression quickly fell.

‘What, where is everyone?’

There wasn’t a single soul in sight, almost like they had known in advance . The same held true as the examined the other tents.

‘Did they all leave the basecamp?’

The campfire was still lit so it didn’t make any sense for them to have left.

Something was wrong, as he felt an ominous feeling creep up. Just as he was about to give order to his group a scream rang out in the night.

“Ahhh!”

Surprised, he ran forth to the source of the sound, only to find one of his subordinates with an arrow stuck in his neck.

“Shit…”

Jang Taeseok swore without thinking.

‘They got us.’

No, they had known from the very beginning, but how could that be? It was the only thought running through Jang Taeseok’s head at the moment.

“Agh!”

Another scream rang out, this one quite a bit closer.

Rather than running about in panic, he decided to observe his surroundings.

‘I can’t fall for their tricks.’

If he didn’t keep a cool head, the situation would just go from bad to worse. Jang Taeseok finally lifted his black machete and with a rather unwilling look, cried out.

“Gather around, we will retreat for now.”

Things weren’t going as planned so he decided to take his group and quickly escape from this base camp.

There were more screams that ensued as they made their way out to the forest, but he simply ran straight, without once looking back.

“Huk… huk”

They panted, as some group members weren’t able to keep up with his speed. Jang Taeseok finally raised his hand, signalling them to stop.

Hearing the rustling of the leaves nearby, one of his subordinates who wielded a short bow, let loose and arrow in that direction.

Complete silence followed, only adding to the tension.