Chapter 37 (1/2)
'What's this?'
Seol stared at the piece of paper that had fallen on the shelf.
'Oh, that's right. I got that from one of the Necessary Boxes….'
He remembered receiving it as one of his starting bonuses. Honestly, he had completely forgotten all about it. At that time, he was far too stunned by the revelation regarding his Nine Eyes. And afterwards, the food he pilfered from the convenience store hid this paper away from his view and it languished at the bottom of the bag.
He couldn't help but feel a bit flabbergasted by the fact that he had completely, utterly forgotten about this little…. thing, until now.
”Hey, Sung-Jin?” (Seol)
”Yes?” (Yi Sung-Jin)
Yi Sung-Jin raised his head and looked at Seol, after he stopped emptying the contents of his bag to the ground.
”What was your Mark's grade again?” (Seol)
”It's Bronze.” (Yi Sung-Jin)
”That means, you got a Random Box, right? Back at the a.s.sembly hall.” (Seol)
”Yes, I did get one.” (Yi Sung-Jin)
”What came out from there?” (Seol)
”It was a paper talisman. Why? Is something the matter?” (Yi Sung-Jin)
The boy replied without hesitation.
”I'm kinda curious here, but uh, the magic spell you can use with a talisman, can it be anything you want?” (Seol)
”No, not really. Mine had 'Bind' written on it.” (Yi Sung-Jin)
Seol looked back at the paper talisman resting on the shelf and began frowning slightly. This sc.r.a.p of paper in front of his eyes was…. almost completely blank.
”Is it possible for you to show me your talisman? If you still have it on you, that is.” (Seol)
”Oh, that. My bad, but I already used it up back in the Tutorial…. We ran into that Gaeg-gwi monster as soon as we came out of our hiding place, you see.” (Yi Sung-Jin)
Yi Sung-Jin scratched the back of his head apologetically.
”Hmm… Is there anyone who still has their talisman until now, I wonder?” (Seol)
”I'm sure that everyone has used theirs up by now. I mean, the Neutral Zone's about to close, anyway.” (Yi Sung-Jin)
”Huh? What does that mean?” (Seol)
”Uh? Ohh….. Well, they were starting bonuses, right?” (Yi Sung-Jin)
”What are you even talking about?” (Seol)
When Seol asked back in surprise, Yi Sung-Jin showed how stunned he was in response. The boy's face said that he didn't expect the youth to have no clue like this. After all, every Invited should've known about what was going to happen already - unless one didn't really pay attention to the explanations provided beforehand.
”Uhm…. Yeah, think of it like our phones. You heard that we gotta return them before leaving the Neutral Zone, right?” (Yi Ji-Hyuk)
”Yeah, I did.” (Seol)
”It's like that. Both the starting bonuses or the phones, we didn't earn them through our own strengths, right?” (Yi Sung-Jin)
”Okay.” (Seol)
”Things like that, either we return them before the Zone closes, or they automatically disappear when we leave. The Neutral Zone is a special area connected to the Tutorial, so items from there can be used here. But, we can't take them with us to the Paradise.” (Yi Sung-Jin)
”We can still take the armours and weapons with us, though? Heck, I was planning to take my spell b.a.l.l.s with me, too.” (Seol)
”Armours and weapons are bought with your own points, so they are excluded. And you got those spell b.a.l.l.s yourself after finding the right amount of coins in the treasure hunt, right? I mean, they are different from the starting bonuses given away without us actually having done anything yet.” (Yi Sung-Jin)
This was the first time Seol heard about any of this. His expression became complicated as he took a look at the paper talisman on the shelf.
”Like, for instance, if you did something by using the starting bonus, that's acknowledged as you having achieved it yourself. But the bonuses themselves won't be counted.” (Yi Sung-Jin)
What the boy was saying was that, by tomorrow, this talisman would become useless. Gone forever.
”Wait a minute. Does that mean this bag too….?” (Seol)
Yi Sung-Jin nodded his head as if it was par for the course.
'I nearly ended up making a huge mistake, didn't I?' (Seol)
Seol hurriedly took out all the things he carefully stored in the bag.
In the meantime, he was regretting the fact that he hadn't gotten the chance to use this talisman. And at the same time, he got curious as well.
….[You've acquired a Paper Talisman]….
The announcement message definitely said he acquired a ”paper talisman”. But, unlike the spell b.a.l.l.s, not a single piece of information was written on the talisman itself, not even what kind of spells it might be able to cast.
He didn't think of this item as useless junk, though. After all, it was one of the Gold Mark's starting bonuses. At least, its worth should be incomparably higher than the bonuses of the Silver and Bronze Marks.
'Wish I had a clue….'
Seol slowly fell deeper into his thoughts.
”Are you making fun of me? Was your experience during the Tutorial that unpleasant? Are you trying to completely rip it to shreds, is that it? Just how did you even know what that man would need in here…..?!”
Then, he remembered Han growling in anger after seeing the Necessary Boxes back in the a.s.sembly hall. The Guide looked so relieved when Seol told him that his Status Windows got updated, instead.
[Scanning for the most 'needed item' during the current situation…. Please wait.]
Next, he remembered the message that came after opening the first Necessary Box….
”But that guy, he didn't clear the mission in what you'd call a 'proper' fas.h.i.+on. He just got lucky, that's all.”
….And, even Kim Hahn-Nah's advice, too.
'Could it be….'
As soon as that line of thought entered his head, Seol fell into a serious dilemma. He slowly fingered the nearly-blank paper talisman, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
”Anyways… What did you get for your starting bonu…. Eh?” (Yi Sung-Jin)
Yi Sung-Jin's words came to a halt, along with his hands that also stopped emptying his bag. Because, Seol was nowhere to be seen anymore.
”…..Hyung?” (Yi Sung-Jin)
[Siege (Remaining number of attempts: 1/1)]
Within 48 hours, annihilate the race of Guardians protecting the ”Sanctuary” and destroy this impenetrable fortress!
Difficulty: Impossible
When successful: +172,800 SP, a one-time use VIP store coupon (1 per person)
When unsuccessful: Death
*Cooperation possible: up to 6 people.
Seol came down to the first floor, and he stared long and hard at the parchment stuck at the very top of the noticeboard. The usually-noisy plaza was empty and quiet today, as if everyone else was too busy sorting out their luggage to loiter around here.
'There's even a time limit, too….'
Seol slowly swallowed his saliva, reached up, and carefully took the mission parchment off the board.
Right now, this paper was no longer glowing in red hue like before. No, it was now in an orangey hue, which was one grade lower - 'Do Not Approach'.
His uncertainty only lasted for a brief moment.
The colour of 'Immediate Retreat Recommended' was now no longer there and that gave Seol a sliver of confidence.
'There's a chance I can survive this.'
The high level of danger was still present, but still.
Someone once said thus - there would be a time in one's life when he either had to take a step back, or to take that challenge head-on.
He squeezed his trembling eyes shut. Fingers gripping the mission parchments grasped it even tighter.
And… rip.
Accompanied by the sound of the paper cleanly ripping in half, Seol disappeared from the plaza.
The location he teleported to was in the middle of a dense forest.
'Where is this?'
Seol hastily surveyed his surroundings, only to have his jaw nearly hit the ground in shock, instead.
'C, crazy son of a b*tch!'
His eyes took in the majestic sight of a magnificent yet absolutely huge mountain range. The cliffs seemed so precipitous and stiff as if they were expertly cut and shaped by a heavenly carving knife; the highest peak couldn't even be seen, as it was shrouded by thick clouds.
Things got worse, though.
He also could spot countless structures and defensive walls built in and around the mountainside, and they all seemed incredibly st.u.r.dy to him, making him truly appreciate the impossible nature of this mission.
'How can anyone clear this mission?!'
This was no longer a problem solvable by a measly group of six survivors - even a well-organised army would find it hard to conquer this place. Only now did Seol realise what Kim Hahn-Nah was trying to warn him about.
Seol did his best to rein in his wildly pounding heart and cautiously began walking forward. The actual distance to his destination wasn't far, as it turned out. Since he had no idea what might happen, he thought it'd be for the best if he closed the distance as much as possible before trying out the paper talisman.
But, when he got a bit closer than before, he had no choice but to come to a very sudden stop.
He left 'Nine Eyes' on since the Neutral Zone's first floor.
And thanks to that, he could see the colour of the mountain range change suddenly from its initial light red to….
….Deep, deep red.
And then….
'W, what the h.e.l.l?'
….Finally, to jet black.
The formless pressure those cliffsides gave out after they all suddenly changed to jet-black colour was so overwhelming that, simply by looking at them, Seol instinctively took a step back in fear.
Swis.h.!.+
It was then, a sharp whistling noise pierced past his ear. Seol had been taking several retreating steps, but came to a stand still when that happened. And when he carefully wiped his cheek, he found blood on his palm.
[What an insolent little human you are! Ohohoho!]
A high-pitched but rather alluring voice of a female suddenly rang around the air.
Seol quickly looked around his surroundings as confusion dyed his expression. He couldn't see or sense anything around him, yet…. What just happened?
No, this wasn't the right time to dwell on such matters. The colour black signified that he should escape right away. One wrong move, and he'd be dead real quick.