Chapter 33
"How on earth did you..." Lee Shin stopped talking and hurriedly spread his mana.
Lee Shin’s mana power detected a mana tool that was monitoring this place, so he used his mana to cast the Silence spell on the surrounding area. Then, he turned around to cover his mouth so that he would not be captured by that mana tool.
"Just listen, and don't even nod. We are being monitored right now,” Lee Shin said.
Baek Hyun's head stopped right after moving slightly.
"I don't think you are in a condition to have a conversation with me right now, so just stay still. Don’t say a word. I’ll come up with a way to save you.” Lee Shin said to Baek Hyun. Then he revoked the Silence spell.
"Hello sir, I have heard that you know a lot about magic." Lee Shin pretended to have a conversation with Baek Hyun.
Baek Hyun flinched at Lee Shin's sudden honorifics and unexpected words, but he just stayed still as Lee Shin said before.
"Looking at the situation, it seems like you are not in the condition to have a conversation with me. I'll be back later and I'll have them send you something to eat." After saying that, Lee Shin turned and left the place.
* * *
The Hell level was so unimaginably difficult that no one in Lee Shin’s previous life had cleared it. Lee Shin could not clear it back then either. That was why there was no information on the Hell level at all.
It was known that all the single-digit floors were solo stages except for the first floor. This meant that cooperation with other challengers was impossible. Therefore, it was difficult for Lee Shin to imagine Baek Hyun being here in this place. Lee Shin never knew that Baek Hyun would be the first person to enter Gerpain and get into trouble.
Lee Shin thought that Baek Hyun might have challenged the Hell level when he had heard that Baek Hyun was missing. However, Lee Shin never imagined this scenario. This was a much bigger finding than what he had expected. This was something Lee Shin would never have noticed if he had challenged this level by himself.
‘Should I let people know about this…’
People had said that it was a solo stage up to the Extreme level. However, if the Hell level was a multi-stage, that meant multiple challengers could join to challenge.
However, would having more challengers allow them to clear this stage? Even Baek Hyun was helplessly defeated. He was nowhere near clearing the stage, and he was at the brink of death. Therefore it was a reasonable question to ask. Lee Shin wondered if he would only be causing meaningless death by trying to raise their morale.
‘I’ll first have to give Baek Hyun something to eat.’
It must have been a long time since he had entered this stage. If it had not been for the stats that he had gained through his previous training and climbing the tower, he would have died of hunger a long time ago. Lee Shin did not know whether to laugh or cry at the unexpected discovery of power.
* * *
At the dinner table with Gorgin, Lee Shin explained the situation he encountered in the underground prison and suggested that Gorgin give some food to the criminal.
After a long time of consideration, Gorgin accepted the request.
"Even if he cannot do anything, I don't feel like giving him food. But since it’s your request, I will accept it. But once your conversation is over, I am going to starve him,” Gorgin explained.
"Thank you," Lee Shin replied.
In the evening, Lee Shin went back to the underground prison. The two parted again, exchanging only formalities.
‘If you come inside, the security is a lot weaker than you think,’?thought Lee Shin.
It could be seen as a harmful effect of the development of hextech. There were problems that arose from trying to solve everything using technology rather than manpower. The security of the underground prison was almost totally concentrated at the entrance. That meant when someone passed through the entrance and came inside, there was a fairly big gap in security.
The security was sloppy. Surveillance cameras were practically the only thing they had to monitor what was going on inside. Of course, that could also mean they were confident that the prisoners would not be able to escape.
Lee Shin waited for night to fall. And then, there came a series of beeping noises.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
The sound of a warning echoed through the castle again.
"What's going on!"
"The enemies have invaded!"
"This time, it’s the Undeads!"
There was a much greater disturbance than when the Ogres and other tribes had previously invaded.
"How the hell did they get in here?” Gorgin shouted.
"The Undeads are attacking the castle! We have to get Titan on the move!"
This time, it was not an attack outside the walls, but an attack inside the Gerpain citadel. The Goblins started to panic because the chaos was inside this time.
Lee Shin took advantage of the ruckus and entered the underground prison. His mana pattern was still registered, and upon entering, Lee Shin unfolded his previously laid mana field. The surveillance devices were disrupted by Lee Shin’s mana power and he went straight to the lowest floor of the underground prison to meet Baek Hyun.
[Frozen]
Crack— Crack—
Lee Shin’s mana penetrated through the prison bars. At the same time, a white frost spread over them. Lee Shin kicked the frozen bars with all his might.
Baaam!
Baek Hyun, who saw the bar shatter, looked at Lee Shin emotionally.
"You can speak now,” Lee Shin said.
"Master!" Baek Hyun shouted in excitement.
Baek Hyun was so relieved now that he cried out to Lee Shin. It was so frustrating for Baek Hyun that he could not say anything to Lee Shin who was standing right in front of his eyes; it was like the pain of being in shackles.
Tuk— Tutuk—
The shackles that tied up Baek Hyun fell to the ground. They were cut off by Lee Shin’s mana. Baek Hyun could not move his body immediately because he did not have enough strength in his body.
"Take this." Lee Shin handed over Baek Hyun’s weapons and a map that was stored in the warehouse of the citadel.
"Oh! What is this?” Baek Hyun asked.
"This is where the Titans are stored. All of them may have already been dispatched, but there might be some under repair or waiting to be called. So finish them up and join me,” Lee Shin explained.
"Wait, what about you?" Baek Hyun asked.
"I'm going to destroy the Destroyer," Lee Shin said.
The plan was set in motion, and Lee Shin had no time to lose. After delivering his instructions to Baek Hyun, Lee Shin immediately began to leave the place. In addition to the map and his sword, Baek Hyun received a lower-rank recovery potion. He hurriedly drank the potion and followed Lee Shin out of the underground prison.
‘Uh…’
Lee Shin had disappeared, and Baek Hyun scratched his head while looking at the map.
‘I can’t really tell even if I’m looking at the map… Is it here?’
Baek Hyun decided to trust his intuition and started walking.
* * *
There was a cellar that was located not too far from the underground prison. Gorgin rushed there and put his bracelet on the wall in front of the door to the cellar.
Beep—
A red laser scanned his bracelet and the door opened for Gorgin to enter.
Thud!
There was a huge chamber in the cellar, and a huge, overbearing Destroyer hidden there. Gorgin looked at the Destroyer that was standing beyond the transparent glass wall and smiled as he stood on the footstool.
Beep— Beep—
[Scanning.]
[Searching for the mana wave.]
[Checking.]
Beep— Beep— Beep—
[An abnormal mana wave has been detected.]
[The security level will be enhanced. The mana blockade will be activated throughout the cellar.]
"Huh? What’s going on?" The frustrated Gorgin looked around urgently.
"Hey you!" Gorgin called out.
When Gorgin turned around, there was a very familiar face. Lee Shin had been standing behind Gorgin.
"Hmm… a mana blockade…? That’s a little annoying...” Lee Shin murmured, looking at the ceiling where the sound of the machine was coming from.
At that moment, Gorgin's sword rushed toward Lee Shin.
"Kieeek! How dare you follow me? Did you try to locate the Destroyer?" Gorgin shouted in anger.
"What if I did?" Lee Shin asked back.
Chang—
Lee Shin and Gorgin’s swords clashed and bounced off. Gorgin paused momentarily because he was surprised by Lee Shin’s power.
"It is a prejudice to think that wizards are weak,” Lee Shin said.
# Strength: 55 (+47)
The strength of Lee Shin was already over 100. And he was stronger than any of the challengers on the lower floors. Gorgin, who was one of the strongest Goblins, could not beat Lee Shin with his strength.
"Kieeek! Kik!?But still, you’re just a wizard. There's nothing you can do since mana is blocked.” Gorgin laughed at Lee Shin.
Despite the fact that he was thrown out by physical force, Gorgin still seemed quite relaxed.
Tick!
Suddenly, a Barrier sprang up between the two. It was triggered by Gorgin's signal as if he had been prepared for this kind of situation.
"Kiekik! Try breaking it through with that superior power," Gorgin mocked Lee Shin and stood on the footstool again.
"Tsk, you are mistaken that hextech is greater than mana...." Lee Shin said.
The mana in Lee Shin’s body was loosed at once and attracted all the mana power that was around him.
"You can't stop mana with this crappy technology,” Lee Shin muttered.
The surrounding atmosphere had become turbulent, and the mana field that separated the two started to fluctuate. The mana waves in that scene suddenly began to change rapidly and hit the entire chamber as if there was a typhoon.
Kwa—
Kwaaang—!
Lee Shin's mana wave broke the Barrier and burst the mana blockade that stopped the flow of mana in the space. If he could not move his own mana, he could simply move the mana that remained in the atmosphere.
Originally, it was something that could only be done by a magus. However, Lee Shin was a Great Wizard. In addition, Lee Shin’s enlightenment and knowledge were deeper than before. However, one unfortunate thing was that his body was not prepared for a rebound.
“Keugh…”
For the first time in a long time, Lee Shin felt all his mana blood vessels twitching.
His mana class had risen to level three, and he even acquired the divine status and chaos. Overall, his basic stats had increased considerably. Fortunately, Lee Shin could withstand a very brief rebound of the transcendental stage.
"Tsk."
There were multiple layers of security. During the last invasion, Lee Shin had sent a demon to find out about the location of this place. However, since the demon could not enter due to security, Lee Shin tried to sneak in this time to disable the Destroyer by following Gorgin.
If there had not been the warp portal, Lee Shin could have succeeded… Lee Shin could see Gorgin boarding the Destroyer in the warp. He felt bitter. Now that things had already gone down the wrong path, Lee Shin had no other option but to confront the Destroyer face to face.
Lee Shin thought for a moment that he should have raided Gorgin; but he soon realized that it was meaningless. Gorgin had an artifact that protected him. If the raid had failed, Lee Shin might have had to face an all-out war with the entire population in the Gerpain.
‘I mean, I don’t think it will be that difficult anyway…’
If they just cleared the stage so ignorantly, they would end up missing something.
"Amazing, I did not expect you to break through the mana blockade,” Gorgin said.
Lee Shin could hear Gorgin's voice in the Destroyer.
"Bring it on," Lee Shin said.
* * *
“Kieeek! Kieeek! The undeads are constantly coming!”
"Don't die! Kieek! If you die, that devil will turn us into undeads!"
"Who are you calling the devil!” May cried, offended.
"Haha. Hey, devil. Summon more of the undeads,” Warrie laughed next to him.
"Ah! Hurry up and do something with these guys!" Gundo shouted, blocking the attack of the two Titans.
"What's that Skeleton? He’s so strong," Baek Hyun asked.
Baek Hyun had failed to find the Titan's location, and so he just came onto the battlefield. There was an undead showing tremendous dignity, wielding a huge club on one side. It was a Skeleton Ogre.
"What are you doing here? Why are you bothering the master?” "I know, why did the weak guy come all the way here?”
May and Warrie, who had already heard about Baek Hyun from Lee Shin, stared at Baek Hyun.
"Hey! I've already regretted it a lot. I am never going to challenge the Hell level again!!"
Even though Baek Hyun said that he would never come back to such a place because he was sick and tired of it, he was completely slaughtering his enemies. He could handle them pretty well, perhaps because he had already dealt with the Titans once before. Baek Hyun was successfully disabling them one at a time.
"But wasn't May a wizard? Were you a necromancer?” Baek Hyun asked.
"... These undeads are master’s undeads. I'm just temporarily controlling them." May did not like how he was constantly misunderstood as a necromancer.
Whoo-whoong—
Kwaaang—!
"W-w-what’s that?"
"Keugh!"
Something huge came flying and smashed into the floor. The ground shook as if there was an earthquake. A cloud of dust sprung up in an instant, obscuring the view of the battlefield.
"Master!"
Lee Shin landed as if he was falling from the air. The situation on the battlefield was more impressive than he thought. Lee Shin thought it would be difficult for the undeads here because there were many mechanized soldiers. However, that was not true. These Goblins could not stop them with only Titans and not the Destroyer.
"Keugh…” The Destroyer, buried in the ground, groaned and rose slowly.
That once-extraordinary sight of the Destroyer was nowhere to be seen now that its body was broken all over.
"It's… not over yet..." Gorgin said.
"No, it's over,” Lee Shin replied.
There was already the shadow of death hanging over Gorgin. Death came close to him. Gorgin was also fairly injured, because even the steering room inside the Black Titan’s body had been affected by the damage.
Swoosh—
Hwaaak—
In Lee Shin’s eyes, everyone on the battlefield had disappeared and only Gorgin remained. A young Gorgin appeared, hammering in his work clothes.
"Hurry up, Gorgin!” A soldier demanded.
"Kieeek, this won’t work better just because you're in a hurry!" Gorgin replied.
"Even if it doesn't, make it work. We don’t have much time.” The soldier rushed him.
"Kieeek…?Okay, okay…” Gorgin answered.
After that soldier left, Gorgin stopped working and took out something he had been hiding and started working on that instead.
"I don’t have much time left…” Gorgin muttered.
Days passed and the deadline that the soldier had mentioned was approaching.
"It’s finally done! Kieeek!” Gorgin began to connect the parts that had been separated into several pieces.
This machine looked somewhat familiar to Lee Shin. The black machine looked very much like the Destroyer. However, the size was only a little larger than humans.
Gorgin had entered the machine and tried to escape. Gorgin's mini Titan, which presented an outstanding power, succeeded in escaping past the enemies. Gorgin fled to a mountain path that no one had ever reached. There, by chance, Gorgin discovered the Mountain Vital Force (MVF), which contained a lot of energy.
The Goblins lived a short distance away. With their help, Gorgin had created the Destroyer of his dreams, powered by the MVF. Meanwhile, Gorgin heard that the Goblin tribes were kidnapped by other tribes and they were sacrificed as offerings to the gods. Gorgin went with the Destroyer, saving the Goblins and built them a village where the MVF had been.
Time passed by very fast. The village grew to become the Gerpain citadel, and Gorgin became the Lord. However, other tribes had invaded Gerpain and so their village collapsed. In front of Gorgin was the Ogre who led those tribes and a familiar-looking soldier standing next to the Ogre.
"So, this is where you were hiding, Gorgin,” the soldier said.
"Did you… chase me all this way…? That’s annoying,” Gorgin replied.
The soldier took Gorgin out of the half-destroyed Destroyer, locking him up, and made him invent a hextech machine,
"You can't run away," the soldier said.
Hwaaak—
The scene changed again at the end of the soldier’s words. There was a half-destroyed Destroyer in front of Lee Shin's eyes, similar to the one he had seen a while ago. And Lee Shin could see Gorgin, looking helpless.
Crunch—
As He Who Knows Death, Lee Shin was able to see the past of those who were dying. He saw the atrocities of the gods through these lives. Lee Shin gnashed his teeth. The behaviors of gods who thought they were acting in justice and truth made Lee Shin shake in anger.
Lee Shin thought of his own past, those unforgettable experiences of the past. Lee Shin, who could no longer forget anything, recalled his old misfortunes. And on top of these misfortunes, Gorgin's figure overlapped.
Until the end, Gorgin was trying to move the Destroyer in defiance, as if he had not given up yet. When Lee Shin tried to terminate Gorgin, Lee Shin felt dirty, as if he had become a pawn of the gods.
Nevertheless, Lee Shin decided to finish everything.
[Thunderbolt]
Coo-Goo-Gung—!
A huge thunderbolt fell over the Destroyer in the dark cloudy sky.
"Someday... I will relieve your sorrow," Lee Shin muttered.
The Thunderbolt struck the Destroyer’s body. It was struggling to stand, but it finally collapsed on the ground, motionless.
[The Destroyer has been completely defeated.]
[Gorgin has been defeated.]
[97% of Gerpain’s power has been disabled.]
[Gerpain has collapsed.]
[You have cleared the fifth floor.]
[Your achievements will be recorded.]
[You have achieved 158,550 points.]
[You have received 158,550 points.]
[Your Health Point has increased by 3,555.]
[Your Mana Power has increased by 12,300.]
[Your Strength has increased by 6.]
[Your Agility has increased by 4.]
[Your Intelligence has increased by 13.]
[Your Dominance has increased by 8.]
[You have acquired the Mountain Vital Force (MVF).]
[You have acquired the structural blueprints of the castle lead class Titan, 『Destroyer』.]