Chapter 238 – The Death Alchemist 3 (2/2)
“Shit, I don’t want to be attacked by my Master!”
“Stay by my side. Everything in this labyrinth smells fishy.”
The bluish spirit that she saw at the beginning was probably used as a device to give one discomfort.
The Phantom was probably watching the situation unfold right now, so she had to remain vigilant, even if she figured out its trick.
The environment inside the labyrinth could change at any time.
Helena took Roan and moved along the left fork path.
Step. Step.
After moving for a while, Woohyuk appeared at another crossroad.
“Is this another fake illusion? If you’re real, prove yourself!” Helena warned.
“… First of all, prove yourself, Witch of Annihilation. Show me your self-purifying magic.”
If one used purification magic, one could reveal the true shape of the object distorted by hallucination magic.
Helena first proved her existence with the spell and then found out that Woohyuk and Roan were not fakes either.
“… But why didn’t you tell us about this in advance? Thanks to you, the situation got complicated!”
“I told you. I told you that this ruin makes its intruders fight against each other.”
Since the stages changed every time, it was impossible for Woohyuk to properly inform his party members in advance.
Woohyuk briefly explained the situation and then carefully observed his surroundings.
“What are you looking for?” asked Helena.
“A mark.”
“What type of mark?”
“There are devices installed throughout this labyrinth that conjure illusions.”
One of them was the bluish ghost that Helena saw previously.
Therefore, it was necessary to move forward while removing the marks so as not to get lost.
Otherwise, they’d be traversing the same route repeatedly.
Perhaps because of this, Arhen and Lisa could not be seen.
“Hey, so where is the Death Alchemist? When we came in, no one came out,” continued Helena.
“I don’t know either. I think it’ll probably be in the last stage.”
Perhaps this ruin had something it needed.
Woohyuk suddenly wondered what kind of relationship the Death Alchemist had with the Phantom, the manager of this site.
A system message popped up as he was moving forward and removing the marks on the stone wall,
[You have almost reached the center of the labyrinth.]
[If all five survivors gather, you can move on to the next stage.]
[Number of people currently alive: 5]
Fortunately, all five were still alive. It seemed that no one had died yet.
There was a high probability that the Phantom nor Death Alchemist would appear in this stage.
However, it was dangerous to believe the system message at face value, so Woohyuk cautioned Helena and Roan,
“Don’t forget that the manager of these ruins is Phantom, an illusionist. He can also maliciously give false information to us.”
“Do we really need to clear all the stages? Last time, at the Vampire ruins, Astaroth ignored the system messages and stage restrictions and went back and forth through the stage at will,” Helena remarked.
Obviously, if the system administrator was less experienced or low level, that kind of free passage was possible.
Hearing Helena’s words, Woohyuk nodded and said,
“Well, since it’s a high-ranking demon’s ruin, it shouldn’t be very difficult for any one of the 72 Demon Kings.”
“Then, why don’t we find Arhen and Lisa and have Amon find the Death Alchemist? We can try using the other Demon Kings as well.”
Helena’s words made sense.
Of course, Woohyuk considered this option from the beginning as well, but he wanted to find everyone first.
However, since it was already stated aloud, he decided to do what she said.
Woohyuk summoned Amon and Astaroth and entrusted them with the reconnaissance task.
“Find all the surviving guys in these ruins and bring them to me,” ordered Woohyuk.
No matter if it was the Death Alchemist, it couldn’t beat two Demon Kings.
Sending more Demon Kings out seemed to be unnecessary.
As soon as Amon and Astaroth disappeared, a system message appeared in front of Woohyuk.
[Are you… that famous troublemaker?]
[Yes/No]
It seemed more like a text message on a mobile phone than a system message.
Woohyuk smirked.
‘He’s a funny guy.’
Since he suddenly pulled out Remegeton and summoned the Demon Kings, Woohyuk felt that the Phantom was getting nervous.
When Woohyuk clicked the [Yes] button, the system message was updated.
[I want to negotiate with you. Will you accept?]
[Yes / No]
The Phantom was reaching out to Woohyuk first.
Of course, the Phantom’s other hand might be hiding a dagger, but this didn’t bother Woohyuk.
Woohyuk thought about the offer for a brief moment and then pressed the [Yes] button.
‘Even if I have to kill it eventually, it wouldn’t be a loss to listen to its story first.’
Additionally, the Phantom may provide crucial information on the whereabouts of the Death Alchemist.
Eventually, the system messages disappeared, and a dazzling light enveloped their surroundings.
***
They were teleported to a control room with numerous surveillance screens.
Woohyuk and his party members were facing a man wearing a white mask.
“Are you the Phantom?”
“Yes. Pleased to meet you all. I am the Phantom.”
The man offered a sofa for the group.
Currently, all five party members were gathered.
Only Woohyuk rejected his offer while the rest sat on the comfy sofa.
“So, what kind of negotiation do you want to do, Phantom?”
“Recently, I’ve had a headache because of a man. He seems to be the Death Alchemist you’re looking for.”
The Phantom explained in detail what had happened in his ruins.
To summarize, about a month ago, a man with light purple hair came in and disappeared.
After his disappearance, the bodies in the ruins began to disappear like ghosts.
“So, you don’t have any other clues. Why do you think he’s the Death Alchemist?” asked Woohyuk.
“Look at this,” the Phantom replied as he lifted the palm of his hand. A translucent metal lump appeared above it, emitting a blue glow.
“What is that?”
“I don’t know either. Since his appearance, small amounts of this metal have been found often in the corners of the stages. It’s stronger than steel and seems to be more precious than gold.”
Thus, the value of this unknown metal was higher than that of gold.
Emphasizing this point, the Phantom continued,