Chapter 21 Part1 (1/2)
<chapter 21.=”” inherited=”” hope=”” -=”” 1=””>
”Now, shall we go find out what the Dryads were hiding?”
”You know, I don't hate that part of you; that fickle side of yours.”
”Thanks. I like that part of myself too.”
The moment Lee s.h.i.+n Woo fulfilled his objective of raising his Acid Resistance to the high rank level, which was something he seemed willing to stake his life on before, he decided on a new goal. He spent only 3 minutes at best reveling in his accomplishment.
”I wonder what the Dryads wanted from the Spirit General?”
”They wanted us to tell her about this place, so the answer's probably inside somewhere. It's easy to find, too.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo began searching and quickly found the secret the Dryads had left behind... in other words, the entrance to a dungeon. Even though he was watching Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's every move, Jin didn't understand why Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was so sure.
”The traces the golem left behind are too thick, so I can't really tell.”
”But it's a lot easier to sense than the winery? If you can grasp the Dryads' mana, then it should be easy to find.”
There was an even easier way: find the ground that wasn't very damaged, despite the fierce battle! Lee s.h.i.+n Woo suddenly drew his mana at the place the golem was guarded. With just that, the ground softly vibrated and dirt stairs appeared leading down.
[Level 5 dungeon - You have acquired the permit for Mellonia's Laboratory. All stats increase by 10 within the dungeon. The dungeon's information is added to your minimap. All actions are buffed within the dungeon.]
There was no way of knowing who Mellonia was, but he was sure that the Dryads were using this facility differently than the way it was intended upon creation.
Because the entrance was so tiny, they (especially the large Jin) had to hunch their shoulders to enter the dungeon. Soon, the entrance closed, and hundreds of stairs appeared. It was a relief that it was wide enough for Jin to go down.
”Hoo, we'll reach the bottom soon.”
”It's too quiet...”
”No, there's breathing. You can tell if you sense the mana.”
[!?]
The moment Lee s.h.i.+n Woo spoke decisively, he felt something recoiling in fear from within the darkness of the dungeon. He chuckled, and stepped onto the floor at the end of the stairs.
However, before they went deeper into the darkness, they heard a voice which caused them to stop.
[Who... Who are you!?]
It was a pure and young lady's voice... It was different from a human's voice, as it had a peculiar echo to it, and contained magic in it as well. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo suddenly realized that this was an uncorrupted Dryad's voice.
'As expected, the thing that the Corrupted Dryads wanted to protect the most above all were the Dryads who weren't corrupted...'
That was the moment that their hidden 'treasure' was revealed. It was obvious when he thought about it. The Corrupted Dryads' appearance had been so shocking that Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had erroneously a.s.sumed that there weren't any normal Dryads left.
'If that's the case, then what the Corrupted Dryads wanted from the Spirit General was probably...'
When he acquired the final puzzle piece, the Dryads, the answer became quite obvious. They were probably hoping that the Spirit General would protect the remaining Dryads that hadn't been corrupted.
Giving him the key fragment that allows pa.s.sage to the Spirit Springs was also likely an extension of that as well. They probably wanted the uncorrupted Dryads to leave this dangerous world and live in the Spirit Springs instead, or something similar. Though Lee s.h.i.+n Woo got in the middle of it and made everything a mess.
'Alright, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo. Calm down. If I can talk to them, then I have to give it a try.'
Just blindly killing them all was the dumbest idea ever. There was probably something else he could get from this scarce spirit species. If that's the case, then there was only one thing of importance: acting.
”I'm Paul Zero.”
For Lee s.h.i.+n Woo, switching to acting was easier than even breathing; he spoke in an extremely peaceful and attentive voice.
”I'd like to talk with you.”
[T-Talk...?]
”Yeah, talk.”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's voice was extremely calm. The representative Dryad seemed to be confused, as Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's appearance didn't match that of a high ranking skeleton at all; however, while hesitating, the other Dryads began to speak by the ones or twos.
[A trespa.s.ser! It's a trespa.s.ser!]
[How can a skeleton...?]
[How can a mere skeleton be talking with us...?]
The Dryads' young, beautiful voices were pleasant to his ear, but it felt like the voices that came after the first were a bit older. Soon, the noise spread uncontrollably.
[You idiot, don't you feel that overflowing elemental power? He's not a normal skeleton.]
[Now that you mention it, you're right. Is he an Elementalist?]
[A skeleton's an Elementalist?]
The commotion was gradually increasing! The once dark dungeon began brightening up, allowing him to see within. They were spirits that looked like beautiful women of various ages... he saw both these Dryads, as well as the trees that they were protecting.
”...It's rotting.”
[Ugh!]
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo muttered subconsciously, and one of the Dryads couldn't help but respond. That meant he'd hit the mark! The trees within the dungeon were rotting. Naturally, that meant that those withering trees were having an effect on the Dryads as well.
”Mm. Hoh.”
[Keuk!]
[Kuuu.]
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo, who'd noticed the withered trees, looked inside the premises, and found several Dryads who looked quite old. They could feel his blazing goblin fire, and they shrank at his seemingly piercing gaze; immediately after, they became angry.
[What have you come for, Skeleton!? You're not much better off than we are!]
[She's right. You've come to laugh at us, haven't you!? Even though you're a skeleton with power over nature, you're still a skeleton!]
The Dryads' voices of resentment increased. The youngest looking Dryad (in other words, the one that seemed least corrupted) sported a fierce expression and stepped forward. This was the Dryad who had first yelled 'who are you?'.
[We don't want to talk with you! If you have any kind of respect, then leave before you spread the curse onto us!]
”Ha.”
Of course, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had no intention of powerlessly leaving after finding the dungeon, as well as discovering the mystery. He had two choices: either kill all of them, or fool all of them. Fortunately for them, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had decided upon the latter.
Now then, it was time to start in earnest. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's goblin fire blazed immensely.
”It seems like you've been infected by the curse since a long time ago. No... you guys weren't born in the dungeon, were you? Weren't you originally affected by the curse?”
[Keuk!]
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo painted a perfect picture in his head. The Dryads had realized the severity of the curse which uprooted the Empire, and had pushed their uninfected kin and trees into the dungeon.
But the problem was with the trees. Because the tree seeds were corrupted, the Dryads inside the dungeon couldn't avoid being cursed. They were able to prevent themselves from becoming like the Dryads on the outside, as they entered the dungeon before it was too late, but they would eventually become just like them...
”How is it? My a.s.sessment is spot on, right?”
[Keuuuuuuk!]