Chapter 99 – Orange Zone (5)
Kududududu
A tremendous vibration ran throughout the ground.
Kwaruru
"Uuk!"
"What!"
From the single wave of the huge vibration, the people's bodies flew into the air and then bounced off all around.
They hadn't gotten hurt due to their inhuman physiques and skills but it was a vibration that was strong enough to bounce these guys into the air.
'What. Is it an earthquake?'
But it didn't seem like even an earthquake would be at this level.
While Sofía was shocked from the huge vibration, a huge soundwave rang from far away.
Kuooooooo
The cry of a Margoth was loud enough on its own but the level of this cry was on a different dimension.
A cry which shook the heavens and was like thunder that pushed apart the clouds.
'…Pain?'
While Sofía was frowning at the emotion that was carried upon that cry, somebody hugged Sofía from behind.
"Uh?"
Sofía was shocked at the sudden actions of Hansoo.
'What is this sudden…'
While Sofía was blushing, Hansoo spoke towards Sofía behind her.
"We need to fly away quickly Sofía. Hurry."
"What?"
"I don't have a flying skill."
Sofía looked at the surroundings at those words.
"Damnit! Run to the shelter!"
"Goddamnit! Why the clash already!"
Ken and the others who were killing and hunting were hurriedly running in all directions.
Some went through the hole on the ground and hid.
Another one used all their skills to harden themselves and then smashed their body into the ground.
Some threw their body into the air and then quickly flew towards a direction.
As the seniors of the Orange Zone were acting like that, the people who were getting attacked and those who were watching the attack started to follow them as well.
Since that strange vibration and the actions of their seniors were enough to make them feel uneasy.
Kuuuuung!
The giant Margoths started to cry out as they smashed their heads deep into the grounds.
At the same time they compressed their bodies as much as possible and stuck as close as they could onto the ground.
As if they were trying to prevent getting flicked off somewhere.
Sofía was dazed at the tens of hills that were created in an instant.
'What is going on…'
Tekilon approached Sofía and then hung onto the back as well.
And then spoke.
"I'll be in your care too. Female."
"…"
Sofía suppressed the sudden rage which skyrocketed for some unknown reason and then started to activate her skill,
Oooooong
Sofía's body carried the two male bodies and then started to rise high up into the sky.
'How far do I have to go up?'
It was better to copy others when one didn't know.
As she saw, the people who had gotten onto the sky already had climbed up hundreds of meters.
But their expressions didn't really look that great.
As if they wanted to go up higher but couldn't due to the restrictions of their skills.
While Sofía was pondering while looking at these people, Hansoo spoke to her.
"Since you've come all the way here it's better for you to see it. Go up as high as possible."
"What?"
Sofía looked downwards at those words.
Margoths that had shrunk down.
But nothing different could be seen yet.
'…Let's go up a bit higher.'
Sofía's curiosity was stimulated from the current situation which told her that something might happen.
Sofía followed Hansoo's words as she went up even higher.
Though she had gone up hundreds of meters higher than the others who were floating in the sky, she still could not find the origin of the vibration.
Just vast plains.
But at that time another wave of the huge vibration rang throughout the lands.
Kururururururur
At the same time something smashed the ground after cutting through the clouds on the edge of the plains.
Booooom!
Sofía freaked out after seeing something whipping around in the distance.
'…Ouroboros?'
The thing that had been smashed on the edge of the land could be seen by their eyes.
The beasts below were big as well but the Ouroboros, which they had fought, was naturally thought of at the humongous size that wouldn't even be compared to them.
'Though it does seem a bit different…'
While Sofía was squinting her eyes to see it more clearly, Hansoo shook his head and spoke.
"You'll be able to see it if you go up higher. It'll be hard to see yet.'
"…"
Sofía went up higher with Hansoo and Tekilon on her back at those words.
After a long while after Sofía had reached the heights where the clouds had shrouded her body, she could see what it was.
And where the vibrations had come from.
Kuoooooooo
"Uwaaaaa…"
Sofía looked beneath her feet.
It was a sea of lava all around.
No matter where she looked the only thing she could see was a sea of lava.
A hell-like environment that no life could live on.
But there was a creature living in such an environment.
"…So we were above that thing huh."
The land they thought of as the land was actually not land.
A giant beast that couldn't even be compared to the Calamity Fish.
'…With that size it could probably be as big as a small country.'
Four legs that were like the trunk of the World Tree.
And a giant body which could be compared to the area of a whole country which was being supported by such legs.
The thing which had made her think of the Ouroboros was a long and thick tail.
A giant cow-like head and a pair of horns that shot above the clouds.
The giant beast had half of its body submerged within the sea of lava and was screaming out in pain.
Tekilon mumbled with a bitter-like expression.
"It's the Gragos."
Divine Beast, Gragos.
A giant beast that should only come out within legends and tales which maintained its body temperature by submerging its body within the sea of lava, the
A gigantic creature which was located a level above the Margoth.
A creature which supplied land and food to other creatures upon the Heringsen where no life could exist upon.
At that time a question occurred upon Sofía's mind.
'What could possibly threaten this?'
It was clearly shouting out in agony.
But what would threaten something with a body such as this?
The dinosaur-like thing they had seen earlier was big too but those things taking a few bites would just feel like fleas gnawing on its bits.
And they were probably allowed to do so because it was only that much.
'If they could actually inflict pain onto it then it would just roll around once or so.'
It may only be a flip to it but once that thing flipped upon the sea of lava that was probably thousands of meters in depth, the creatures living upon it would probably go through an armageddon.
At that time Tekilon spoke:
"The only thing that can threaten a Gragos… Is another Gragos."
Kuuuuuuuhh!
At that time something jumped out from the sea of lava and then attacked the Gragos.
Though they were both Gragos, they still looked different.
If the giant Gragos they were on looked like a cow then the Gragos that popped out from the sea of lava and was trying to bite down upon the bottocks of the cow-like had the form of a lizard.
The lizard-like Gragos which had popped out from the lava opened its jaw and then bit down onto the buttocks of the bull-like Gragos.
Then a battle occurred.
The bull-shaped Gragos was much larger than the Lizard but as if it didn't want to fight, it smashed at the Lizard with its hind legs, whipped its tail and tried to run away from it.
The Lizard shaped Gragos continued to bite down upon the buttocks of the Bull-shaped one as if it wouldn't let go easily.
'…So that thing was a tail.'
Sofía then finally understood why all the creatures above that thing ran away in fear and tried to firmly tie down their bodies.
Though the Bull wasn't really fighting back vigorously, this much was still a calamity to those living upon it.
Though they could live through the shockwave, what if they got flicked off into the sea of lava?
Or get swept by the tail that was swinging from side to side?
'…But that thing's a bit weird.'
Sofía realized that the attacking Lizard and the Bull had differences.
No, their size and looks were both different but there was another difference on the Lizard.
That the lower half of its body had blackened.
She couldn't tell when it was submerged under the lava but once it got upon the Bull's buttocks with its front legs, she could see the blackened lower body.
And as if the blackened lower body didn't move properly, the Lizard only used its front legs and its mouth while it hung onto the Bull's buttocks.
Kuuuuung!
Soon the Bull-shaped Gragos had succeeded in flinging off the Lizard and running away.
Though their sizes had an impact, the fact that the Lizard couldn't use its lower body was a major factor as well.
Kiiiii
The Lizard looked at the running Bull with a regretful expression but looked at the flesh in its mouth contently as it started to chew on it.
Then a change occurred.
The lower part of its body which was blackened started to recover its color.
The Lizard-shaped Gragos cried sadly upon looking at the color of the body that had slightly returned and then plunged its body back into the sea of lava.
"…"
"Let's go down. It'll be hard to catch up to the Gragos if it went off further away from us."
Sofía stayed silent from Tekilon's words and then slowly went downwards.
Sofía looked around the surroundings after reaching the ground.
"Uwaaa…"
Chaos.
The giant trees had been all broken and pulled off and the Margoths were slowly raising their bodies while crying out in agony as if their bodies were in pain.
"Kuuu…"
"Kuhak."
The adventurers stumbled up as they walked off into a direction as they released their skills as if they had barely survived this time as well.
'…It was just a Lizard biting off a bit of the meat on a Cow's butt.'
Since it was humongous in size even compared to the lizard, there wasn't a calamity this time.
No, it was only this much because the Bull didn't like to fight, if it were to madly charge with its horns like in a bullfight then it would've been much worse than this.
'No, If that thing had lost…'
The Bull had won because a small one had come.
What if an opponent which the Bull needed to fight against with all of its strength appeared?
Or an existence which could devour the bull?
'Insane.'
Sofía looked at Tekilon as she spoke.
"What happened? The lizard had half of its body blackened."
Though Sofía had thought of Tekilon as a nuisance when they had first come here, now she was very grateful for having him.
From the fact that there was a person next to her who could satisfy her curiosity which was vigorously rising up.
Tekilon spoke.
"Calamity of Death."
"What?"
"It's the name of the calamity that destroyed our world."
It wasn't that their race, the Akaron, had died from an epidemic.
The things that had gotten sick were another existence.
The Divine Beasts, Gragos.
The giant creatures which supplied them with the land and nutrition they needed to survive.
Their race, the Akarons, looked up to the power of the Gragos and then used their genes and invented the Body Modification which would strengthen their bodies.
And that attempt had succeeded very well to the point where they had driven off the Margoths that had threatened them and had united their race who were living on multiple Gragos' bodies.
This was the 2nd Great War.
But the spotlight of the 3rd Great War was not them.
The Gragoses that had been inflicted with the Calamity of Death had gone crazy and started to chomp down upon the other Gragoses.
And their world had embarked on the path of destruction in an instant.
Since the Akarons and the Margoths were nothing but bugs compared to the transcendental existence, the Gragos.
There was nothing they could do in a situation where the gods were jumping around and the lands were getting destroyed.
Tekilon spoke towards Hansoo.
"You saw the Gragos. It's not weird for yours or my race to get killed off at any time. So I want to ask. How are you trying to save our race? Don't say nonsense like killing the Gragos that attack. The Calamity Fish or the Ouroboros were just extremely toned-down versions of the Gragos."
The Four Calamities.
These were merely toned down versions they had created while researching the Gragos for their Body Modification.
The transcendental creature, Gragos, was perfect beyond reason and much larger and did not have a weakness.
A predator of a Gragos was another Gragos.
Sofía made an expression full of fear at those words.
Chapter 100 – Orange Zone (6)
Hansoo laughed at those words.
"Of course that's a bit too far. How would I kill that?"
Hansoo wouldn't be able to kill that no matter how strong he was.
Their race was different in the first place and there was a limit to how strong he got from the things that came out in the Orange Zone.
Like how the Seven Departed Souls didn't get infinitely stronger despite the countless years in the Red Zone.
And even if he were to get strong enough to kill that thing, why would it let him kill it peacefully?
During the time Hansoo fights it about half of the creatures atop the Gragos would die off.
'Each and every one of them are precious.'
He had to not kill them even if he could.
Akaron, the race which were cultivating their culture throughout numerous Gragoses.
The 1st and 2nd Great Wars had occurred because of similar reasons.
Since only a limited amount of creatures could live atop of the Gragos.
No other creature could live upon the Heringsen of lava other than the Gragoses.
In order to maintain their life, they could only eat the bodily fluids of the Gragos or the other creatures that grew on that bodily fluid.
But there was a limit to the bodily fluid of the Gragos.
Since a great calamity would occur if they drink too much bodily fluid from the Gragos.
Once a too large quantity of fluid escapes then the Gragos will roll around the sea of lava, Heringsen, in order to maintain its health.
In order to get rid of the parasites.
So there was a limit to how many creatures could live upon the Gragos.
Since there was a limit to the quantity of its bodily fluid despite its huge size and vast territory.
There were even 3 Akaron tribes who had gotten greedy and had gotten destroyed in the past.
No, even if they weren't being greedy, there were quite a lot of Akarons who got swept up by the Margoth who didn't know such a thing as restraint.
Because of this, many Arakon tribes, who were each cultivating their own cultures, went through Great Wars with each other.
In order to get atop of each other's Gragoses to take over the land and gather more things to eat.
Or to get to a different Gragos before the lava bath of the Gragos started due to the Margoths.
This was the 1st Great War.
The Margoths weren't their original opponents.
Since the Margoths were powerful beyond comparison to the Akarons.
But one man's thoughts were different.
The much larger Margoths drank a tremendous amount of bodily fluids from the Gragos.
And because of this the man focused all his strength on developing the Body Reconstruction technology, united the whole race with this power and then swept off all the Margoths.
This was the 2nd Great War.
Basically the 1st and 2nd Great Wars were battles that had occurred in ordered to obtain food from the Gragos.
'A lot more humans will come over from now on.'
One Gragos that was being used as the starting area was enough since there weren't that many humans yet but once hundreds of millions of humans cross over then a single Gragos was not even close to giving all the humans a place to live.
How could he kill the Gragos when he needed more of them?
Tekilon replied at those words.
"…And dodging the attacking Gragos is a problem as well. Sadly there are probably only a few Gragos left. Even if you unite all the remaining Gragos, you won't be able to acquire land that your race will live upon."
Tekilon had seen the Elvenheims who had expanded under the influence of the World Tree so he knew the strength of the World Tree.
He didn't know how long it would take for Hansoo's race to cross over here but if they borrow the strength of the World Tree then expanding their numbers a few hundreds of times wouldn't take long.
Since the World Tree sped up rate of growth.
Probably hundreds of millions or billions of them would cross over.
And they needed tens of Gragoses in order to sustain that race.
'No, hundreds may be required to live on.'
They couldn't use all the Gragos as a place to live on.
The Gragos had more differences with each other than similarities and there were a few crucial conditions that were needed to be fulfilled in order for people to be able to live upon them.
First, they could not have a habit of enjoying a hot bath by diving under the lava.
And the smaller ones who got submerged under the lava could not be used.
Their personalities couldn't be bad.
Since they would try to fight every Gragos they see if their personalities were bad.
Though the Gragos survived by drinking the lava, the ones with bad personalities will attack other Gragoses for stress relief or even as a snack.
Of course these things would not fight peacefully.
They would roll around the lava and fight aggressively.
And it needed to be large enough to survive through the sneak attacks of other Gragoses.
The Akarons had searched through every passing Gragos thoroughly in order to find those who fulfill these conditions and only after that had they moved.
Since all the Akarons who had gotten on top of that Gragos would get massacred if even one of those above conditions wasn't fulfilled.
They could only find out their movement patterns after countless years because they were so big and were laid back but they had succeeded in dividing between safe and unsafe Gragos and Tekilon knew of this.
But they in order to find tens of Gragoses who fulfilled the above requirements they needed to search through hundreds of Gragoses.
'…There's no way hundreds of them would be alive.'
The moment the Calamity of Death was introduced, the number of Gragoses had declined at an extreme speed.
Since there weren't many when he had left, there would be even less now.
A strange unknown disease which only occurred to the Gragos.
The effect of the disease was very simple.
It would slowly eat through the infected Gragos and paralyse it.
But there was a damned way to cure this disease.
The body of a healthy Gragos.
The earlier Lizard was a Gragos that wasn't really aggressive.
Though it was too small and as such it couldn't be used to live, something the Akarons had seen a possibility of being able to live upon once it grew more but it had gotten that aggressive after catching the disease.
It had attacked the uninfected Gragos in order to cure its lower body that was getting paralysed.
The peaceful Gragoses went insane and started to attack and bite off each other after the Calamity of Death fell.
It was a problem even if they didn't get attacked.
The Gragos that was infected thoroughly by the Calamity of Death didn't die but would slowly fall beneath the lava after having its whole body paralysed.
And not much to say for the creatures living atop of it.
'…Damnit.'
Tekilon grinded his teeth when he thought of back then.
Since he had thought of back then when 23 of the 27 colonies atop of 27 different Gragoses had been smashed apart in an instant.
A calamity which had befallen them during the happiness they had attained after driving off the Margoths.
Hansoo laughed at those words.
"That's why we need to cure them."
"…What? How are you going to do that?"
Tekilon shouted out because he was dumbfounded.
Tekilon had roamed the outside world after turning into a soul-form.
In order to find out a way for their race to survive.
But they were not stupid.
What would have been the first thing they would have tried to do after the Calamity of Death swept about.
Of course they would've tried to cure the Calamity of Death.
And they had been fairly confident.
Since if the Elvenheims had a speciality at magic engineering like with the World Tree, then they were skilled at dealing with life and genes.
But the result was a huge failure.
They lacked time, manpower and leisure as well the Calamity of Death being different from anything they had seen so far.
In the end the 13 Akarons who had special physiques and could live through the Soul Converter left behind the Akarons struggling upon the Gragos while waiting for their doom as they headed to different worlds.
But for a random guy to pop out of nowhere and speak like this, how would he not get pissed?
Hansoo merely shook his head.
"I know of the cure."
They had searched of countless methods in order to solve the Seven Zones.
But it wasn't only them who had been running here and there in order to solve the Seven Zones.
Like the Elvenheims whom they had met at the Abyss.
The humans, along with Hansoo, had not been able to meet the Akarons but they had found the artifacts of a man while roaming around the Abyss.
Within the memory crystal of the man who had called himself an Akaron, there was a clear way to cure the Calamity of Death which had occurred in the Orange Zone.
A cure which he had completed after hundreds of years roaming around the Abyss where time and space had been distorted.
Elkadion couldn't handle the harsh environments of the Abyss and had died off but the crystal he had left behind with his regrets and the cure had been handed down to the humans.
In that crystal, a method for creating the cure by only using materials that could be found in the Orange Zone was written down.
Elkadion had created a cure using the materials from the Abyss much earlier but he had prepared for the instance where somebody landed upon the Orange Zone with only their body and had found a way to create the cure by only using materials from the Orange Zone.
The alchemists who had found this extremely intricate and detailed knowledge could only exclaim.
Though it wasn't hard to create a cure with the materials in the Abyss, creating a cure with the materials from the Orange Zone was basically the same difficulty as trying to create a dragon by breeding snakes.
It was obvious why Akarons could not figure out a way to cure it.
It was a miraculous result created from the countless experiences and knowledge gained through the Abyss as well as the obsession of saving one's race.
There was a message from Elkadion at the end of the memory crystal which had the cure.
'Well. I could get that after this all ends.'
He could only receive those rewards if his work on the Orange Zone was completed.
Hansoo opened his mouth in order to finish his talk.
"There's something we need to kill in order to make the cure."
"What is it?"
Tekilon decided to find out the details later since this guy was somebody who hid too many things and first decided to focus on solving his current curiousity.
"It was called the Margoth Du Tiradus I think."
"…Margoth of the Tiradus lineage?"
Tekilon sighed at those words.
"Damnit. It'll be easier to just put a hole on the skull of the Gragos."
The Gragos wasn't reachable.
Since they were placed far above where they could reach.
But Tekilon, who had participated on the 2nd Great War against the Margoths, knew the fright and strength of the Tiradus too well.
They had won against the Margoths but hadn't easily driven them off.
They wouldn't have called it the Great War otherwise.
It would've been called the Great Massacre.
Margoth du Tiradus.
The most aggressive and powerful Margoth out of the 8 different kinds.
It was the name of a beast which was the least numerous but had massacred the largest amount of Akarons.
"It seems like you know a lot… Then you know that the food of the Tiradus are those Margoths over there right?"
Tekilon then pointed towards the Margoths which had puked them out, walking off in the distance while towering numerous kilometers into the air.
Chapter 101 – Body Enhancement Surgery (2)
"…It eats those?"
Sofía frowned as she looked at the creature called Margoth in the distance.
Though it looked rather timid, it towered over multiple kilometers.
How vicious and giant does one need to be in order to live by eating up those?
Hansoo just shrugged his shoulders at those words.
"Don't worry. We can definitely kill them."
If they follow his plan step by step then in the end they will get to the point where they can kill the Tiradus.
'There's no need to catch it at this moment.'
They had to go through a lot of steps before that anyway.
And get the thing they could gain here.
"Let's do the most urgent things first."
"What is it?"
Hansoo smiled at those words.
"There's a specialty here."
The biggest reason why Hansoo wanted to recover this place, the Orange Zone.
Tekilon was dumbfounded.
"Mmm…You want to receive the Body Enhancement Surgery?"
The combined efforts of the Akarons who envied the powerful bodies of the Gragos that withstood and even drank the lava.
Hansoo nodded at Tekilon's words.
If curing the Gragos was for the people coming over from the previous world then the Body Enhancement Surgery was like a preparation for the next world.
'Humans are too weak.'
There's no point in comparing them to Margoths or Gragoses.
In short, the physique of Humans was too weak.
The fact that they could die randomly was only seen in humans out of all the races.
Even Elvenheims had resistances, stamina and bones that were numerous times stronger than those of humans.
Even without the help of the World Tree.
'A powerful body that is strong even without the help of the runes is needed.'
They would lose their battle strength by simply not eating for a few days and would die if unable to breathe.
This couldn't be solved with runes.
The Abyss was as harsh as this sea of lava, Heringsen, was.
There were places where meteors fell and places where lightning struck down every time one took a step.
Some places didn't have any air and some places had gravity that was several tens of times stronger.
Though they could withstand them with skills, this meant that they were using energy which should be used as battle strength into surviving instead.
They could be at ease when fighting with the races of the Abyss because of this.
'We need to… Reconstruct the body of a human as a whole before we advance.'
Enhance the bodies of billions of humans who would come up.
It wasn't just any body.
The Akarons would gain powerful bodies that could even fight against those giant Margoths.
And if Hansoo was to acquire this then it'll be of great help from now on.
'The pressure from the Racial Metamorphosis will decrease tremendously immediately.'
Tekilon nodded as he looked at Hansoo.
"Your race wouldn't be able to get as much of an effect out of it since you aren't the same as our race but there is still a possibility. But… We would need to find the temple."
Temple.
The house of the priests to worship the Divine Beast, Gragos.
The great patriarch who had united the whole Akaron, Mekido, chose the temple as the location of enhancing the body.
The temple was located where the most amount of essence from the Gragos flew by.
And because of this it was the most suited location for the Body Enhancement Surgery where they pulled out the essence from the body of the Gragos and integrated it with one's body.
'This is not the place where we used to live.'
Tekilon had looked around the surroundings when they had risen to the sky.
This was not one of the 27 colonies they had lived in before.
But there were traces of their race.
'Thank god. They must've crossed over here.'
If their race had escaped from the Colony and had crossed over to this Gragos then they would've definitely raised a temple and set up the things required for the surgery.
Though their race had been destroyed after the Body Enhancement Surgery had been invented, the worth of this technology was too high for them to give it up.
No, the worth of the Body Enhancement Surgery was even higher since most of the Akarons had died.
The problem was that they didn't know where the Temple was.
The Gragos was humongous in itself and they all had differences so it was hard to guess where the most essence was flowing though.
It might be deep within the body or between the two horns.
It could be near the heart or the stomach which swallowed the Lava.
Their race had only found the places where the essence was overflowing after countless years above the Gragos, expanding their numbers and searching every corner of the Gragos.
Of course they could build multiple temples in places where the essence flew by in smaller amounts but the priests did not allow this.
'Those damned bastards.'
They weren't that favorable to Tekilon who was sided with the Tribe.
He wanted to ignore and trample upon them all but then he couldn't ignore the specialty powers of the priests.
The priests that served the Gragos weren't normal people.
Within the system of the Akaron's tribe where the patriarch and the priest had similar authority, the power of the priest and the patriarch weren't that different.
And this was the same for the great patriarch, Mekido, so they had used the Temple as the location for them to have their bodies enhanced.
And this was still a huge amount of yielding from the priests.
At first the great priest, Karbanam had gone on a rampage that they were dirtying and sucking out the essence of the Divine Beasts.
Though he didn't know whether the population of the tribe was higher than that of the priests, there was a high chance that only one Temple was built.
"First we need to find that Temple. It would be easier if we find members of my race but… There's nothing I can guarantee."
It might've been different if the owners of this place were the Akarons but it didn't even seem like that was the case.
Tekilon couldn't guarantee that he could find the Temple in a short time in such a situation.
Hansoo pondered for a moment and then nodded.
'There's a place that might have one….'
He wasn't sure.
Since the depths of the Gragos was a world of mystery to the humans.
The reason why they had found out the existence of the Akarons was not because they knew about every part of the Gragos.
It was that there were fights between the Akarons and the humans within the Gragos.
Tekilon mumbled with a tone of worry while looking at Hansoo.
"But it seems like things might get a bit troublesome."
"Mmm?"
"It might be different if the those on the tribe's side were there but… If those from the priest's sides are in power then they won't let us use the Temple."
It wasn't that he labeled those from the priest's side as bad guys just because he was of the tribe's side.
The priests were people who emphasized that the Akarons who were higher up on the power scale had to receive the Body Enhancement first.
Why would such guys allow a human, who was of a different race, to use the temple?
There would be a clash.
Tekilon looked at Hansoo and spoke.
"I'm saying this just in case but… Let's be cautious when we act. You are strong but our race is very strong as well."
The
Those who fought in order to erase the enemies of the temples for their whole life.
Their strength cannot be questioned since they were warriors who were already powerful but had received the blessings of the Temple and the Body Enhancement.
Nothing much to say since the requirement to be a Garde-Barong was to be able to kill a Margoth singlehandedly.
They would be given the rights to protect the Temple and the Body Enhancement set up above it only when they can kill off the parasite living upon the Divine Beast, the Margoths.
Hansoo nodded.
It was good to decrease unnecessary clashes.
But that was something he would need to worry about after finding it.
"First I need to get some help."
It was hard for him to search this humongous Gragos by himself.
He needed to borrow the strength of an already existing power.
'Where shall I go?'
The Gragos had numerous powers sectioned in different locations since it was so large.
A bit of time would be needed just to find nearby information since they didn't know where they had landed.
Sofía, who was listening quietly on the side, poked at Hansoo.
"Mmm?"
"My trait is telling me to go towards a direction?"
Hansoo nodded.
"Let's go."
"Is it alright to choose that easily?"
When Tekilon asked with a worried expression, Hansoo shook his head.
"It's even hard for me to make a decision better than Sofía. Just believe her."
Him choosing a direction was heavily influenced by his knowledge of the future.
But the things he knew about were only important things, he couldn't learn of small details like this.
On the other hand, the Library supplied them threads of clues that told them about the quickest route.
Sofía, who had gotten happy from Hansoo's compliment, flew her body towards the direction her Trait was telling her.
...........................
"Phew… We barely survived. Damn. They all ran away alive. Why did the charge have to come now…"
Ken grinded his teeth.
He couldn't do anything since the clash was something that could happen at any time but the result this time was the worst outcome possible and it was hard for him to not lament.
It was too late for him to find those who had ran away in all directions.
And after this those guys would understand the danger and bunch up with their clans.
Then it would be almost impossible for people like Ken who moved around in small numbers to look for another chance.
'And… It's different from before.'
Ken looked at the Margoths in the distance.
The surviving Margoths were constantly puking out the adventurers from the Red Zone.
Those who would usually come once a month.
The reason why they could do something like this was because the Magoth would puke them out once a month.
Setting up camp in front of this constantly was the same as being crazy.
Since it was the same as the slothing around that they all avoided.
Actually spending one day out of the 30 in a month was still a huge investment.
Since their competitors will get stronger during that day.
'Damnit.'
Ken made a dispirited expression.
Did this mean it was impossible for him to get revenge on Amil Stadan?
At that time a chill ran down Ken's spine.
And Ken knew what this sensation meant too well.
'Danger.'
At that time a jade colored marble cut across the skies and flew towards him.
'Damnit!'
Ken hurriedly gathered a black colored light within his hand.
A skill which had turned the scout from Lighthouse from the Red Zone into a rotting puddle in an instant.
The thing that was good about the Black Deconstructing Light was that it could be applied to every object and creature.
Everything that got swept by this black light will get the structure broken down and then melt down into a thick puddle.
But this was only when they were at similar levels or when he was stronger.
Chujujuk
The jade marble that had smashed into him had frozen his whole body.
Ken's Black Deconstructing Light tried to melt down the ice but the mana and the mastery of the skill on the ice was definitely a level above him.
'This is about… 5th year. No, almost 6th. Damn.'
Ken then gave up resisting.
'Since they have frozen me, they don't have thoughts of killing me.'
If they wanted to kill him then he would've died already.
It was better to listen than resisting and be forced into listening.
But Ken regretted this decision after seeing the face of the person who had frozen him that was walking towards him from the distance.
He should've resisted harder.
"It's been a while?"
"…Fuck."
Ken made an uneasy expression after seeing Sofía approaching him from afar.
Seeing the gleeful expression, his earlier thoughts had been exposed.
Since she wouldn't be making such a happy expression while coming over to beat him up otherwise.
Ken hurriedly shouted.
"I don't think you know since you just got here but do you even know what clan I'm from? This isn't a place where you can act however you want! You will regret this!"
Sofía laughed as she approached while clenching her fists tightly from the urgent shouts of Ken.
"I know. I can see it clearly. Rerorerore… Huh. Rather gaudy."
The thing which he belonged to that was seen above his head.
Hansoo laughed as he heard Sofía's mumbles.
'She's never wrong.'
Rerorerore.
Though the name was a bit crappy, their strength and influence were real.
A huge clan which had influence over 28 areas out of the 118 areas that the humans had made up on the Gragos.
If they follow this guy's guidance then they would be able to find some hints.
'Well. It seems like that guy will get beat up a bit first.'
Since he had intentions of killing another human being, he should've expected at least this much.
Hansoo shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Ken who was white from fear.
Chapter 102 – Body Enhancement Surgery (3)
"So you're telling me that… You can give us that answer huh?"
Sofia looked at Ken with an extremely suspicious expression.
This guy was not somebody who was high up on the rankings even at a single glance.
How would a guy like him know the path to a place like the Temple?
'Is it in a location that everyone knows of?'
It didn't seem like that was the case.
If it was in a place like that then it should've come up on the Library first.
The fact that no intel came up meant that it was in a place even she couldn't get to.
And according to this guy's words, she was around the level of a 6th year.
If it was a place where someone like her could not approach easily then it will be quite a dangerous place.
Ken pondered for a moment a those words but quickly made a decision.
His life would get in danger if he told people about clan information but getting out of this situation was more important.
'Damnit. It's the same whichever way you die.'
He didn't want to say anything but he had a strong feeling that he will become a pile of grinded up meat.
Since the people in front of him looked crazy.
The person holding the spear seems somewhat sane and the female only beat him up and did not emit any bloodthirst but the normal looking man was completely different.
The moment that man heard that he had a hint, he immediately started torturing him as if something was urgent.
'Damnit. I didn't care about him since he was so quiet.'
The calmest one was the most crazy one.
Ken opened his mouth after giving up.
"I haven't been there but I know of people who've been there."
"Where is it?"
Ken shook his head.
"It's not hard to tell you but… Are you really going to go? Those people have been captured."
"Captured?"
"Yes. They are trapped deep within the body of the Gragos."
He had only come out for the meeting but the surface of the Gragos was not a place where humans could live on.
They had gotten on while expecting quite a lot of danger.
Though the charge where a Gragos attacked another Gragos like before was not a common thing, the unlucky people who had been up here during that time may get killed.
Or they may get attacked by roaming Margoths.
And there wasn't much to eat around the surface since the Margoths sucked up everything and caused everything to get dry.
Because of this the stronger people dug tunnels on the inside and moved through those.
The humongous artificial structure that tens of millions of super humans had created for ages in order for their survival.
These ant tunnels which were still being expanded were the location where most people on the Gragos lived on.
The chances of being attacked by the Margoth decreases tremendously in here, no chance of getting into lava even with the Gragos shaking its body and they could gain the bodily fluids safely without fighting with the Margoths.
'Of course it doesn't mean that it's safe.'
The ant tunnels were dangerous for different reasons.
But Ken kept those words for himself.
Since there was no need for him to give information to people who had just come up.
Anyways, the jail was located in a hidden place deep within the Ant Tunnels.
Hansoo asked Ken.
"Why are they jailed?"
There was no need to ask who they were being jailed by.
Ken shrugged as he spoke.
"I don't know. Go ask them directly. I just manage the people jailed and go there to give supplies."
Hansoo frowned at Ken's words.
Clan, Rerorerore.
It was the clan which expanded their power the fastest within the Orange Zone according to his knowledge.
People who didn't make useless actions and only moved to get results.
There was no reason why these guys would keep them hostage if there was no need for them.
Which means that they were being held hostage because they were useful.
And if they were being held hostage then they wouldn't be easily let out.
Ken cautiously asked them.
"Please release me since I've told you all. Didn't I just need to tell you of the location."
Hansoo shook his head at those words.
Wouldn't he just send a carrier pigeon if he were get released here.
He needed to penetrate through them while their defenses aren't set up properly.
"Guide us there."
"Damn! Then it's just a plain betrayal! I'll really die!"
Sofia made a cold expression as soon as his words ended.
Even after hearing his explanation the location of the jail wasn't being caught in her specialty.
Which means that it's a place that's a bit hard for her to go with her current power level.
'There are probably defenses set up.'
Anyways, they needed him since the navigation didn't pop up but if he didn't want to guide them then he had no use.
"Yeah? If you have no use then there's no reason to keep the guy who wanted to kill me alive."
As soon as those words came out something appeared on the end of Sofia's hands.
Ken freaked out after seeing that.
'This crazy bitch!'
Ken quickly shook his hands and his head.
"Damnit! Okay! Don't kill me, I'll guide you there!'
'Damnit. I really don't wanna go to that side.'
But Ken had his own thoughts.
'I just need to buy time. A bit of time.'
He had already sent the carrier pigeon saying that he had found Sofia.
If they had found out that something had happened to him then they will send out a scouting team.
Ken hid his intentions and then pointed towards a slightly different direction.
In order to buy time.
As soon as Hansoo saw that direction he grabbed that guy's neck and quickly moved.
Shwaaaak
Sofia and Tekilon quickly caught up as they made confused expressions.
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
They had already set it up so he wouldn't be able to communicate in any way.
Why was there a need to hurry if the people at the jail weren't going anywhere?
It was better to find out the location and then proceed after proper preparations.
There was never enough preparations.
'And the people at the jail aren't going anywhere anytime.'
Hansoo shook his head.
'There's no time.'
Sofia and Tekilon didn't know but Hansoo knew that there was an emergency contact between these guys.
Hansoo looked towards Ken and spoke after finishing his thoughts.
"I give you 30 minutes. If we don't arrive within that time then we are just going to leave."
"What?"
"We will give up. There's nothing much to say about what would happen to you after that."
According to his calculations, there was a high chance that those guys will intercept them in about 30 minutes.
If he were calculate numerous other things then he needed to complete it within 30 minutes.
It would be better to leave then, get stronger, buy some time and then look for another chance.
'Fuck! How did he find out!'
Ken freaked out at Hansoo's words.
30 minutes was almost the same as his clan's reaction time that he calculated.
Finding out that he had laid a trap was one thing but how did he find out the time.
Ken, whose expression had turned white from Hansoo's threats, pondered for a moment and then moved the direction of his finger.
30 minutes was a bit tight to reach there from here.
If he were to buy time and that guy really did follow his words then he would just be finished here.
Sofia made a shocked expression after seeing this.
They had blocked all ways for him to do anything but for him to still lay down a trap.
"Look at this?"
'This bitch.'
He remembered the torture he had endured earlier after seeing Sofia and Tekilon's expressions freezing up.
No, Ken felt like breaking his finger which had tricked them since the current situation looked even worse.
..........................
Carlson, the person who had been entrusted with the 21st area of the Rerorerore clan, frowned.
'Damnit. Why was the clan name set like this.'
There wasn't much to say about it since the manager of the 19th area next to his had made fun of him for that name.
'That crazy author.'
But he could only confirm the clan leader's strength.
It had been over 10 years since clans of similar size to theirs had been set up.
On the other hand, they had started with the clan leader as the center, gained territory through battles within just 4 years and had grown to similar sizes as them.
The clan leader was an amazing person just from the fact that he had raised such a clan in just 4 years from nothing.
'Anyways, I wonder if the meeting is going well.'
Carlson thought of the meet that would be going on up there.
A clan couldn't control and suppress every clansman.
And because of this the meets weren't that bad in their perspective.
Since the clansman would get rid of the future rivals with a reason of revenge.
Because of this many clans would fairly combine their strengths during times of meets and then separate up again.
But this was all in name, how could they completely trust other clans?
The massacre up there was a perfect setup to get hit from behind.
During the olden days it was quite common for one to go to another clan's territory after hearing from them that their enemy from the Red Zone was there, only to be killed off by other clansmen who were waiting there in ambush.
And because of this they would set up a minimal amount of safety procedures for those who participated in this.
At that time one of the thousands of voodoo dolls in front of Carlson's eyes made a loud noise as it rang.
Beep. Beep.
Carlon frowned as he looked at the voodoo dolls in front of him.
A sound which would be rung when a person participating in the current meet had escaped the area they were supposed to be at suddenly or had died.
Carlson read the letters upon the voodoo doll.
-Last reported area: Location Z-11.
-Reported Information: …
The 21st area that he managed was further divided into three more areas.
Since the size of the area was too big for one to control like that.
Even though it had been divided into 118 areas, the size of the Gragos was so big that every area was bigger than most cities.
Carlson checked the location and the information of the carrier pigeon that had been sent to him.
'…There's not really much of a reason why he would leave the current area.'
Carlson frowned.
Though there was a slight commotion from the clash with the other Gragos, this guy had been waiting in the area he was set on.
There was no reason for him to get out from that area like this.
'No. No.'
Carlson focused his thoughts on the final carrier pigeon that he had sent.
Sofia Vergara.
He said that he met one of the Seven Departed Souls.
'I guess I'll need to check it out.'
From the report it said that there were two more companions along with Sofia.
'Well. They're just scrubs so I can ignore them.'
Who would be stronger than the Departed Souls?
'Anyways, they don't even have any notion of fear. To act like this the moment they get up.'
Sofia was strong but there was a few people in his clan who were at that level.
And a few would be already there in the nearby ant tunnels.
'Let's see. Who shall I send?'
Actually this was a good thing.
Someone as strong as Sofia was a tiger cub.
It would be hard to find her if she had hidden herself but killing her off here before she got strong and joined another clan wasn't that bad.
Soon Carlson thought of the best candidate for this.
Someone who had a strong sense of revenge against Sofia Vergara.
A person who had been waiting for 2 years in this Orange Zone after putting up Sofia's name on the list.
5th year, Horny Mad Dog, Kale Dawson.
'Though he's a maniac he does have some skill.'
The fact that a 3rd year tried to rape a 1st year, failed and had been chased to the upper Orange Zone was a funny story whenever he heard it.
But this had made him even stronger.
Since he had polished his strength in order to revenge.
Though he had a lot of talent from the beginning, his growth had been slowed down because of lazing around.
'Well. Though it seems like he hasn't given up his habit.'
The fact that this guy hadn't died despite Enbi Arin searching around in order to kill him proved his strength.
Somebody who was far above a normal 5th year.
Thankfully this guy was madly rushing towards that location after hearing Ken's carrier pigeon.
Others were quite far away and were doing something else so they might take a while but this guy would get there with plenty of time left.
It was good if he took care of it and still good if others did while he held them back.
Carlson sent a message to him immediately.
Chapter 103 – Body Enhancement Surgery (4)
Kududuk!
Hansoo madly rushed towards the direction Ken pointed to.
'We have to get them out before the time runs out and then back off.'
It'll be troublesome if they got caught in a place like this.
They finally arrived at a location after a long while of running.
A huge underground tunnel.
There were numerous buildings around the tunnel that seemed to be made of cut-down trees.
'Checkpoint.'
One of the hundreds of entrances into the Ant Tunnels.
And the place where the people who managed those entrances lived in.
It might be different if they were at an area in which a clan didn't have control over but all the Ant Tunnels within the area of a clan's influence had checkpoints set up like these.
In order to stop mysterious people from causing chaos within the Ant Tunnels.
Since the Ant Tunnels were so complex that even the ones who managed them didn't know all about them so if somebody who was quite strong went inside and caused a ruckus then it will become very hard to catch them.
The checkpoints were built in order to prevent such situations.
The clansman who was standing upon the checkpoint poured numerous skills towards Hansoo as he shouted.
"Hey! What are you doing! This area is off limits!"
'13 5th years. One who has just reached 6th year.'
There weren't any weak fellows.
A system where the weak ones were set up at the entrance and the strong further in the back was only possible in a game.
The people who had been sent out to get rid of invaders and protecting the Ant Tunnels were like the Castle Doors of the clan.
Of course they would send out strong people.
'Sofía cannot beat them at that level.'
He had to act.
Instantly a yellowish light started to gather up at the end of Hansoo's spear, the Forked Lightning.
Not the light of the Demonic Dragon's Reinforcement but Pandemic Blade's yellowish light.
Chiiiik
'Just enough so they don't die.'
What did these guys do wrong?
He was merely an intruder from their point of view and they were just doing what they were supposed to.
'But I still cannot waste time.'
Hansoo had tested numerous things with the spores of the Pandemic Blade on the beasts before he had come up.
And the result was very satisfactory.
'It's not that I can only grow out one strand of spores or molds.'
As the mastery of the Pandemic Blade rose he could use spores that had more fascinating results.
The fact that he can control a germ with various effects was a very strong point.
The amount of types he could use currently right now were three in total.
Hansoo sent out the second type out of those.
Papapapang!
The yellow powder spread out in all directions through the spear.
The Rerorerore clansmen flinched for a bit while looking at the powder flying at them.
But then laughed at Hansoo.
'To use poison this blatantly.'
One would receive a great amount of harm if they couldn't block poison-type skills.
But that was merely the reward for them being hard to use.
A poison would show its might once it got inside the body or touch them but if that didn't happen then it was the same as throwing flour at people.
This was why the people who were good at using poison-type skills were hidden weapon experts or very proficient at throwing them out discreetly.
It might be different if it was liquid or a solid but for him to throw the powder form so blantaly.
The weak 6th year, Anderson, quickly used his skill
One of the lowest-tier skills that collected air and created a wall.
He had learnt it in the tutorial and had never used it since the effects were so crap but it was good enough to block powders such as these.
Throwing out all their skills in fear to defend just because the enemy used a skill was something only a beginner would do.
Using the skills in the most efficient way possible with experience as the base was one of the basics of the basics.
'It's just wasted Mana.'
At that moment a change occurred.
Pajijijik
Chiiik
The yellow powder that had been thrown into the air covered something transparent for a moment and then started to eat up the mana wall.
Anderson freaked out as he saw this.
'Uuk! Devouring Demonic Poison?'
There was a very nasty poison among all different types of poison.
Poison that ate up everything including skills made of mana.
They had separated these poisons into a different type and then gave them the title of Devouring Demonic Poison.
A powerful poison that even ate mana and skills.
A poison that ate up mana.
But Anderson made an expression of disbelief.
'No way. That's not a Devouring Demonic Poison type!'
Why would Anderson have only used a air wall if he knew that it was a Devouring Demonic Poison type?
The Devouring Demonic Poison types were very intimidating but they were extremely rare
There were a total of 6 types known throughout all of the Tutorial, Red and Orange zones combined.
And they all had bright and vibrant red color.
He had never heard of a yellow poison like this.
But during the time when Anderson had been shocked, the yellow spores that had broken through the mana wall shrouded over them.
Puhaaak!
"Hooop!"
But they weren't easy to deal with either.
'I need to prevent it touching the body no matter what!'
They, the 5th and 6th years, used that short amount of time to use Reinforcement skills to create a mana wall around themselves.
Same for Anderson.
Seven colors of mana reinforcements quickly shrouded Anderson's body.
Tadadadadk
The yellow spores had burned off two of the seven mana reinforcements after going through the air wall but it couldn't get to Anderson's body and only stayed around the outside of the mana reinforcement.
The same for other people.
Everyone had a silly look of being covered by yellow flour but Anderson sighed in relief.
Since he had stopped the poison from touching his body in the end.
At that time Hansoo spun his hand around.
Swing
The mana codes within the spores that were spread between the 14 people that had the Nurmaha Ring's Power,
Kududududk
Udududk
"Uh? Uuuhh!"
"Uuk?"
The spores that were stuck on their body quickly sucked up the surrounding moisture and air as they increased their size.
At the same time the powder-form spores that were perfectly suited for flying quickly turned into a sticky liquid form.
The 14 people instantly got covered within the mucus-like liquid and turned into a cocoon shape.
"Eeek! Eeeeek!"
Kudududk
Anderson used every strengthening type skill he had and tried to rip apart the mucus around his body but they were extremely tough and wouldn't get ripped apart.
'Damnit. What is this mana composition… What is this skill?!'
The spore's elasticity and viscosity wasn't simply the problem.
The concentration of mana within it was extremely high and the mana composition was very strong as well.
Usually the strength of the mana structure changed depending on the level of the skill but for a skill to have the hardness of this then it needed to be at least three levels above his.
Or have reached the pinnacle of mastery.
'Fuck…We're screwed. He's at least at the level of the Baladi.'
Anderson sighed.
If he had been given some time then he would be able to break apart these things.
Since the amount wasn't that great despite the thickness of the mana concentration.
But the problem was the strength of those who will attack him.
Baladi.
One of the parasites that roamed around the Ant Tunnels and sucked up the body fluids of the Gragos.
If there were Margoths up above then Baladis existed under the skin.
Of course the Baladi weren't as strong as the Margoths but they freely roamed around the Ant Tunnels and enjoyed ambushes so they were quite troublesome.
A strong person at the level of a Baladi meant that person could beat down the Baladi in a one-on-one.
A title that only a few top percent of the 6th years could achieve.
Of course there was a huge range of Baladi levels so differences in strength were made up in there but still the weakest of the Baladi level people were stronger than him.
'Death awaits.'
Anderson clenched his eyes but against his expectations, nothing happened.
"Uh?"
The moment they opened their eyes the four invaders had disappeared already.
"Uwak!"
"Godamit! What is this!"
And sounds of things crashing constantly rang out behind them.
Including the entrance of the Ant Tunnel behind the checkpoint.
'This is bad.'
If those guys go into the Ant Tunnels then things will become hard.
At that moment a voice came down from above.
"Really lame. You checkpoint defenders… Where did they go? Those guys?"
It was formal speech but was full of contempt.
Anderson made an expression that had a mixture of relief and discomfort from that voice.
The reason why he had made a expression of discomfort was because he didn't like this guy.
'This rapist bastard.'
The reason why he had made an expression of relief was because he was sure that this guy could solve this problem.
"Kale Dawson…"
A strong person of the Baladi level.
Anderson quickly ripped apart the golden mucus as he pointed towards a direction with his chin.
...............…..
'It's satisfactory for now.'
Hansoo nodded as he saw the effect of the second spore.
He could seal down the movements of 5th and 6th years to a degree.
There wasn't an effect like the first spore which even burned up mana protections but since this could be covered up with Nurmaha's Ring, 'The first spore just eats up too much mana.' Hansoo left behind the checkpoint defenders who were struggling with their body as he jumped into the Ant Tunnels. If one thought that it was a tunnel where only one person could fit in because it was called the Ant Tunnel then that is a huge mistake. A giant cave entrance that was tens of meters in diameter. It needed to be at least this much when it had been created by superhumans. 'This is bad.' The reason why Rerorerore had been able to expand so quickly was because they were able to use all their strengths efficiently without wasting anything. They had only used blades to kill chickens when they were killing chickens and blades for killing cows when they killed cows. They had been able to increase their power at a super fast pace because they always kept a slight advantage over people and had battled in numerous places at the same time. The area manager who had heard his report would probably have sent somebody who was just a bit stronger than Sofía. Then the chances of failure would increase tremendously. Since the person who he had judged to be useless was extremely strong. If they had created a tracker team with Sofía into their calculations then they were likely to get destroyed. 'Fuck…' He had thought of changing the direction slightly but then he would immediately cross over the 30 minute mark. The moment Ken gave up and started to raise his hand to point towards a direction a change occurred. Giiiing Ken's finger distorted into a strange direction. To be precise it wasn't that Ken's finger was distorting but rather the space around it. Ken's face brightened up after seeing this. A dimension-type skill. For them to have such a mastery over a rare dimension-type skill. Only one person came up to his mind after connecting it Sofía. 'Kale Dawson!' Soon the Ant Tunnels had disappeared and they had been transported into a different location. The place they had first gotten to when they had come over to the Otherworld. The space where they were surrounded by rubbles and were next to the train station. While Hansoo was frowning while looking at this scene, something rose up from the ground and tried to smash onto Hansoo. Towards Ken who was being held by Hansoo to be precise. Booom! Green Worm. A beginner mob that could be seen at the bottom of the train station during the tutorial stage before. But their strengths were not similar. Hansoo frowned after smashing the charging Green Worm with his hands covered by Demonic Dragon's Reinforcement and feeling it get numb. A human speech surprisingly came out from the Green Worm's mouth after it had come out from the ground. "There's a limit to how much you can betray. Why would you tell the exact coordinates to the enemy? There's a limit to being lame.' "Huuuuhh…" Ken made an expression of his soul having been stripped off from Kale Dawson's voice after almost having his heart penetrated through. "But you have still done well. I've found her thankfully. It's been a while miss Sofía Vergara." "…". Sofía remembered where she had heard that annoying voice and then frowned. Chapter 104 – Body Enhancement Surgery (5) Hansoo meticulously checked the formation. Sofía made a slightly surprised expression and Hansoo looked at Sofía with an understanding expression. 'It's a skill that doesn't appear in the Red Zone.' Actually it was hard to acquire in the Orange Zone as well. But it was indeed a very useful skill. The user would be able to create an environment that is more suited for him since he is the one using the skill. And as the mastery kept on increasing he would be able to continue to change that environment. He was basically creating his own zone. As long as somebody got stuck in it then he would be able to gain an upper hand in the battle. Kwadududuk The attacks in the form of green worms were constantly pouring in. And the Carnivorous Beast that Hansoo had killed before for the Nurmaha's Ring was rising up in the distance while making loud noises. The strongest point of the formation was that the people would only be able to get out if they find the core that is connected to the user. And they would need to search around for that core, but here there wasn't a need. Since the blue marble was located above the destroyed building in the distance as if Kale was showing it off. Hansoo made a surprised expression. The fact that he could show the core like that meant that he had some experience with formations. 'There's no need to drag it out.' The longer one stayed within a Dimension-Type skill the worse it was for them. If they waste their energy randomly from skills then it'll only be better for the user. Hansoo poured strength into the Forked Lightning in his hands. At the same time he used the Ooooong A transparent light surrounded the tip of the Forked Lightning. Next was pandemic blade. There was no reason to go easy. Hansoo poured in the strongest and most vicious spore, the first spore, onto the forked lightning. A yellowish light covered over the transparent light and shrouded the Forked Lightning. Lastly, Hansoo strengthened his entire body with the Demonic Dragon's Reinforcement and then poured the dark golden light of the reinforcement right over the spear. A strike that was prepared for a one-shot kill. 'If you block this then… You win.' Hooooong! Hansoo then threw the Forked Lightning towards the core, the blue marble, in the distance. ..................... The Ant Tunnels that towered over tens of meters. A marble of 1m diameter was floating in the middle of the ant tunnel while radiating red light. The dimensional structure created from the dimensional skill. Kale Dawson made a content expression as he looked at the circular red marble. 'Sofía. It seems I'll finally be able to pay back what you've done to me.' He had hurriedly ran into the Orange Zone after losing his left arm after trying to go against her. And he had struggled intensely in order to get stronger before she came up. 'I wouldn't be able to kill her otherwise.' Kale Dawson, who had been making a content smile while looking at the marble that shone red light as if it was made of blood, suddenly frowned. The person inside it had suddenly thrown the spear into the air. 'Uh?' The moment Kale Dawson got surprised, the spear flew through the air and then headed towards the top of the Gangnam building where the core was located on. And Kale made a content expression again as he saw this. 'He fell for it.' An attack that had all of his strength poured into. The aura of the spear that was flying was not normal. If that spear penetrated through the core then it would be dangerous for him too. Since the blue core inside the dimension and the red core in front of him were connected. The moment the spear hit the core it will come out from the core in front of him and then hit him. But that was only if he were to hit. 'I don't know why they all act the same way.' He had purposely put the core in a place where it could be easily seen. When he set up the dimension in the past, he would often hide the core with utmost care in case it might get broken if it was hit but he found out that it was more effective to just show the core. If he hid the core then the people inside will calmly deal with the surrounding attacks but once the core was shown then they will ignore the attacks from around them and only go for the core. Though that was the trap. 'Move.' Kale slightly moved the core located above the top of the Gangnam building. Wooosh The insides of the dimension trembled slightly due to him moving the core but Kale didn't care. Since it was a move for which he had taken into account the durability of the dimension. A situation where one used all their strengths to prepare an attack and send it towards the core but the core disappearing in front of their eyes. At that time they will got shocked psychologically and then get swept over by the attacks from around them. They wouldn't give up that easily if they knew that there was a limit to moving the core but not many people knew since dimensional skills were quite rare. Even more so for those who had just come up like them. 'Let's see.' Kale looked inside the dimension with a happy expression. Since he wanted to see the expression of that guy's face once his attacks failed. But Kale suddenly felt a chill run down his back. Since the guy who had thrown the spear was laughing. At that moment the spear that had been thrown started to turn in an impossible angle. Kugugugugk The spear that had turned in a 90 degree angle didn't slow down a single bit as it started to fly into the depths of the rubble in the distance. Towards the location he had moved the core to. "Godamnit!" Kale quickly changed the environment of the dimension, blocked the trajectory of the spear and then started to pour defensive skills all over himself in reality. And he also used the special skill of his reinforcement, Boom!Boom!Boom! The spear penetrated through tens of Carnivorous beasts and hundreds of Green Worms as it smashed into the blue marble. Craack! The moment the spear smashed into the extremely hard blue marble, a transparent light shone out from the spear. Then the core rippled as it swallowed the golden spear. As if it couldn't handle it anymore. And the golden spear that the blue marble had swallowed came out from the red marble in reality as it flew towards Kale Dawson. Towards his heart to be precise. Kale Dawson hurriedly grasped the spear that was flying towards his body by activating Kudududk The transparent light had disappeared but the power of the spear was tremendous. Kale Dawson clenched his teeth as his reinforcement got shredded apart by the dark golden reinforcement. 'But… I survived it.' The spear that had charged towards him started to lose its strength. At that moment the yellow energy surrounding the spear spread out into the air. Kale Dawson smirked as he saw this. His Metallic Jade Reinforcement had a tremendous amount of resistance against poison. Since he was basically turning his entire body into steel. But Kale could only stop laughing. Since tremendous amounts of pain started to pour in from all over his body. Chiiiiik "Uaaaaaaak!" Some yellow things started to gnaw into Kale's body as it sent in a burning-like pain all over his body. Clank The spear that had smashed into him lost its strength and got dropped to the ground but Kale couldn't even care about this as he screamed while he rolled around on the ground. Suuuk At that moment he saw the hands of a person picking up the spear that had dropped next to him. Kale woke up despite struggling in pain when he saw this. 'This is bad.' There was no way Sofía would let him live if this continued. 'No. It'll be worse if she let me live.' Kale, who had understood that the situation was dangerous, used both his Metallic Jade Reinforcement and the dimensional skill as he used his most powerful skill. Kuuuooooong A reddish gold-like metal box surrounded Kale Dawson in an instant. The user himself wouldn't be able to do anything either but it was Kale's last resort that had tremendous amounts of defense. The reason why Kale Dawson didn't use this from the start was because it wasn't really effective. If he used this then he wouldn't be able to do anything for 30 minutes. But a person who forced him to use this could easily break through it in 30 minutes. 'But… These guys are aiming for things unknown to them.' Kale Dawson hurriedly shouted as he thought that he had bought time. "Wait! You aren't thinking of killing me right? You you know who I am? They would have sent down more people from the Rerorerore clan already! You should run!" Hansoo smirked inwardly from those words. 'No way.' Those guys were famous for not going overboard. He didn't know the identity of the guy in front of him but if they had sent a guy of this level to kill Sofía then they have done enough. They would not send additional members. Sofía's expression turned white at that moment. Since her trait, Library, was ringing out warning alarms. Hansoo and the person in front of her were both strong. But the person coming right now couldn't even be compared. "Damnit. It's real. Something's coming." "…?" 'No way.' But there was also no way that Sofía's trait could be wrong. Hansoo squinted his eyes and focused after hearing Sofía's words but he couldn't catch anything in his senses. Which means that something was approaching from outside his range. '…I wish I had a long range perception skill or two.' Even if he were to increase his perceptions with the Demonic Dragon's reinforcement, it would still not be able to compare to long range perception skills. 'There are a lot of skills I need to fill up.' One needed a strong attack skill, a defensive skill and a perception skill. But he wasn't in a rush. Hansoo sharpened his perception even more. In order to read the airwaves coming off from the existence rather than the existence itself. You can hide aura or force waves. But you can't hide the ripples in air that were caused by the shape moving through it. A result which he had found out after countless battles. At that moment Hansoo felt slight ripples within the air. After calculating the speed, aura and the distance of the existence closing upon them, Hansoo made a helpless expression as he looked at the person in front him. 'It's a Margoth level. Is this guy that important?' Baladi Level. And then the Margoth Level which existed above that. An extremely strong person who could beat down a Margoth in a one versus one situation. '…There shouldn't be many of them within the Rerorerore clan. This guy. I thought he was just some useless guy.' He didn't know what had happened in the 2 years this guy was separated from Sofía but if a Margoth level was running over then that meant that this guy was somebody really important. 'There's no time.' He could probably get through the defensive skill in front of him. It would take about 1 minute. But then he would clash with the person charging towards them. 'I can't win yet.' A Margoth level would be hard to deal with even after his Racial Metamorphosis. No, he had a higher chance of losing. Only those who are extremely lucky and have a huge amount of talent reach the Margoth Level. Like Kangtae or Keldian. It was the same as winning the lottery but there were always people who won it. People who resided at the top of the Orange Zone which consisted of hundreds of millions of people. "We have to get…" At that moment he frowned at the countless amounts of Rerorerore clansmen who were getting caught within his senses. At this rate he would get caught. At that time a red carrier pigeon flew in from the distance. "…Mmm?" Hansoo frowned at the sudden carrier pigeon that flew in from somewhere within the ant tunnels. And then asked Sofía. "Is it okay to follow this?" He asked her to figure out if it was a trap or a safe route. Sofía touched the red carrier pigeon and then nodded. Her trait was telling her to follow this carrier pigeon. At that time Hansoo and Sofía held onto Ken and Tekilon as they quickly moved their body towards the location the red carrier pigeon was telling them to. Kale Dawson made a surprised expression after seeing this and then laughed out loudly. "Uwaahahaha! Did you really fall for that? That's some next level stupid!" He had gambled that last part as a last resort but for them to believe him and actually run away. Kale Dawson laughed, grinded his teeth and then told himself he would get revenge next time. 'I'll get you for sure next time.' They were strong but if he gathered around two more people his level then they would be able to win. Kale Dawson, who had added another person to his blacklist other than Sofía, looked at the Crimson Metal Dimension surrounding him and made a content smile. 'I guess this is still helpful.' It was a skill which he called the stupid box because it only had a high defense, it didn't allow one to run and also reduced one's perception within it but for it to save his life like this. But Kale Dawson suddenly felt something weird after laughing for a while. 'Uh?' The Rerorerore clansmen who had gathered in order to catch the intruder had started to run away in all directions. Kale Dawson was flabbergasted as he looked towards the direction the ones running away were looking at. And then his expression turned around 180 degrees as he looked up into the sky. "Uwa.. Uwaaaa…." Kale Dawson started to subconsciously smash onto the red colored wall surrounding him. But of course that didn't do anything to the Crimson Metallic Dimension. Koooooouuu! At that moment something landed in front of Kale Dawson like a missile. Kale Dawson tried to stick out his tongue and bite it off after seeing the person who had walked out from the dust cloud. Since it was better to just suicide. At that time the person who had landed struck their hand out like lightning. Clash! The Crimson Metallic Dimension that even Hansoo had given up on and ran away from broke apart like glass. Tuk "Kuu…Uuu." Kale Dawson trembled in fear as his chin was grasped even before he could bite down onto his tongue. Then the female, Enbi Arin, looked at Kale and mumbled with a calm expression. "I've heard well of what you've done to my younger sibling." "Kuuu…" Kale Dawson wanted to shout out. That he wouldn't have done it if he knew that it was her sibling. Enbi Arin looked at Kale Dawson who was covered in germs and then clicked her tongue. "Let's see. Why are you so hurt. There's a lot to do, let's heal you up and start afterwards." "Kuuuuu…" Kale Dawson realized the moment he saw the soft healing light on Enbi Arin's left hand. That he would not be able to die easily. Kale made an expression of despair. ..................…. 'Hmm. Something's bugging me.' Hansoo had a nagging feeling while following the carrier pigeon throughout the complex ant tunnels but shook it off by shaking his head. Since the person who had sent the carrier pigeon appeared in front of his eyes. '…They don't look hostile.' "Who are you guys?" Hansoo looked at the 3 males and 3 females who were hiding in the corner of the extremely complex ant tunnels. At that time the man who was standing in the front pointed towards Ken within Hansoo's hands as he spoke. "Give us that guy." Hansoo squinted his eyes as he heard the man's words that told him to let go of his guide. Chapter 105 – Body Enhancement Surgery (5) "I don't think that will be possible." Hansoo was thankful that they had helped them in a dangerous situation but he couldn't let this guy go. Then Tares, the man standing in front of him, sighed. He couldn't win with strength. Since he had seen Kale Dawson who was hard to deal with even among the strong people get smashed by this guy. But he couldn't back off. Tares asked him with a nervous expression. "Why do you need him? I don't know why you guys need him but he's a necessity to us." "Why?" "Since that guy knows where our comrade is being held at." "…?" Hansoo squinted his eyes as he looked between Ken and the 3 males and 3 females. Then he finally understood why they were asking him to give Ken to them. 'So these guys are also looking for the location of the Jail.' Hansoo pondered for a moment and then spoke out. "Why is there a need to go separately? Let's go together." "Mmm?" "I have some business with those guys too." If he were to go with the people here then it will be much easier to find out the location of the Temple from them. And even if it was borrowing a cat's hand, it was better if there was support. There was no reason to go separately if they had the same destination. The 3 males and 3 females made suspicious expressions but then nodded. There wasn't much time. The surrounding defenses would increase by a level from the recent chaos. It might've been different before this guy had come but even if they knew the location it will still be hard to get to it with their own strength. 'Ailen. Wait for us.' Tares clenched his teeth as he thought of their friend who would be held there. ....................... Crunch Tares gulped as he saw the parasite Metiron get smashed through in a single strike. 'He's really strong…' They were currently using the ant tunnels that the parasites had dug and not those which the humans had dug. From the fear of the human-made ant tunnels swarming with clansmen searching for them. Of course there was a reason why people didn't go through the ant tunnels dug out by parasites. Since other than eating the body fluids of the Grados, the parasites loved to feast upon humans as a special treat. But Hansoo and Sofía who had recently joined them were smashing apart the parasites as they headed in the direction Ken was pointing to. "But why are they keeping our comrade hostage?" Ken squinted his eyes at the words of Tares. 'This weakling…' It might've been different for Hansoo but he could only get annoyed as these weakling asked him. But there's nothing he could do. Since he had been caught. Ken shrugged his shoulders and spoke. "What would it be. It's to figure out the location of the Temple that they know." "Damn…" Tares frowned at the expected answer. It was quite a well-known story. Another race lived in the inner parts of the Gragos. A race that was the object of fear from their powerful body, beast-like ability to take on hits and secretiveness. But one day, a rumor came in. Everyone tried to convince themselves that those words weren't true but they couldn't after seeing the person who had started that rumor. Since he went up from the Baladi level to the Margoth level. A powerful muscular structure and vitality that exceeded humans and even ignored skills. Humans tried to search every bit of the Gragos from that point onwards but that wasn't possible. The numerous other parasites along with Baladis were burdensome enough. Even though it seemed like they had dug around like it was the human's territory, it was dug around in the safest spots. And even if they got through the parasites, the unknown race was still the problem. Because of this the location of the Temple fell into the depths of mystery. And of course they would ask people like Ailen who would have hints towards that place. "Wouldn't it just be easy if you put in the Symbol instead?" There was no need for torture. Since they just needed to recruit them if they wanted to know. Ken laughed at Sofia's question as he answered. "I don't now. It doesn't seem like the symbol works on those who aren't human." Sofia, Hansoo and Tekilon paused at those words. '…Yeah. If they know about the Temple then it's likely that they are Akaron.' "You guys are doing all this for nought. There's nothing you would find out even after all that torture." "Why?" Tekilon nodded at Sofia's words. "All the Akaron clansmen receive a restriction from the Temple before they set off. Even if they want to say it they can't say a thing about the location of the temple. Anyways… It seems that kid will go through a lot of hardships." Tekilon clenched his teeth. The thought of his few remaining clansmen having been caught and being tortured had unconsciously made him grind his teeth. Sofia asked back. "Why?" Tares was the one who answered. "The Akaron say that they can't even suicide." One of the 13 rules that had existed after the 3rd Great War. Every Akaron must die at the hands of someone else. It was one of the rules that had been created since they had so little numbers. "It seems you're close to them." That information wouldn't be easily told to other races. The fact that they knew that much meant that they are close. Tares spoke with a bitter expression. "That's why we're going to go save them." "Hmm." "We will send her back to her home no matter what. But there is no other way right? It seems like you know something." Tares wasn't really surprised from the thought of Tekilon, who didn't really look like an Akaron, knowing something. There were a lot of people with strange stories and strange abilities in the Orange Zone and they were always people that were outside their expectation. 'They might've heard this somewhere like us.' Tekilon shrugged as he spoke. "I don't know. The fact that they came outside… Means that they have the orders of the Temple. The Temple won't remove the limitations until they complete those orders. Which means that Ailen kid won't know the way to the Temple at all." There were countless times when they were suspicious of other tribes before the Unification. That was the reason for the method that could keep the location of the Temple which acted as the most important location secret. The Akaron who had gone outside from the Temple will only have their limitations lifted off once they accomplish their orders and only then would they remember the way to the Temple. "…Oh yeah, she said that she had orders that she needed to accomplish. Though she didn't tell us. Anyways it's great. Having met people like you. We can't save them with just our strength." Tares made a bitter expression. Though they had spent a lot of time together they didn't get to hear the stories about the orders and the temple. And they were in a situation where they couldn't save Ailen because they lacked strength. Kyaaaak! Hansoo asked Ken after killing off the last parasite and collecting up the runes. "Are we really there? Where is it?" Ken pointed towards the small hole located between the Ant Tunnels with his finger. An extremely shabby hole compared to the surrounding tunnels that towered over tens of meters. 'It seems someone would just run by it if they didn't know about it.' There was no way that they could go into every tiny hole like that within the complex ant tunnels just because of suspicion. Hansoo spoke towards the surrounding people. "Stay here." "Uh?" Hansoo jumped into the hole in the distance the moment he finished speaking. 'This reckless bastard!' Tares freaked out as he saw this. If loud noises occur after jumping in recklessly like that then all the surrounding people will swarm in. Though it was covered up as a small hole in order to hide it from people's eyes, there were 5th and 6th year level people swarming inside there. Since it was a place created by the Rerorerore clan to work away from the sights of other clans. But the more problematic thing was the surrounding patrols. Though this Jail was a bit out in the corner, the surrounding area belonged entirely to the Rerorerore clan. The moment noise happened inside there, all the clansmen would swarm here like ants. Befitting of the Ant Tunnels. But unlike the worries of Tares, the insides of the Ant Tunnels were quite quiet. '…What's happening in there?' Tares looked at this surroundings but Sofia and Tekilon were also squinting their eyes. As if they didn't know either. After a long while of silence a person held onto a thing much larger than his body as he jumped up. Hansoo wasn't small either but the person in Hansoo's hands was almost 2m high. A reddish brown skin and a tiger-like expression. Tares' expression turned bright as he saw this. "Ailen!" But Tares could only grind his teeth after seeing Ailen. Since Ailen's body was basically covered with wounds. 'These fucking bastards!' And Tares wasn't the only one who was enraged. "Kuhue…" Tekilon made a helpless expression after seeing one of his race being covered in wounds. 'Why did they send a child… Who hasn't even received the Body Enhancement Surgery?' If she had received the surgery then nothing would've happened. But his questions disappeared as he saw the wounds all over her body and he was filled up with rage instead. 'Humans…' There was nothing good about this guy's race. To the point where he didn't understand why Hansoo was trying to increase their numbers so hard. 'Will coexisting with these guys be possible?' Tekilon could only question. Hansoo spoke towards Tekilon. "Let's run away quickly." "Mmm?" Hansoo shrugged his shoulders. "It's about time to run." Flapflapflapflap At that moment tens of carrier pigeons started to fly in all directions from the small hole Hansoo came out from. And Tares made a confused expression as he mumbled. "Oh my… Did you not kill them?" Hansoo nodded. 'It'll be trouble if they get on our tail.' There was a difference between taking one person and running away and killing everyone inside there and then running away. The size of the tracking team will also change. Though this Tares seemed to have personal grudges, there was no need for him to share that. Hansoo spoke towards Ailen as he continued to run. Since he had saved somebody who knew the road, it was now time to ask about it. Of course after helping them remember it. "Which mission were you trying to do?" They needed to complete the mission in order to find the Temple. And because of this Hansoo would gladly help with Ailen's mission but he could only do so if he knew what it was. Ailen looked at her surroundings and then clenched her teeth. Because she was stuck between either telling them or not. 'Can I trust these humans?' Ailen looked at the people as well as Tares while she pondered but then clenched her teeth. 'I need their help.' She had wasted too much time here and her body condition wasn't good enough to get through this place alone. Ailen spoke out after she finished thinking. "Please take me to the Baladi Tube." Tares made a surprised expression at Ailen's words. A mysterious tower located at the spine of the Gragos. Though it didn't even go over 5m above the skin, the reason for this tower being called mysterious was situated deep below it. The depth of this tower that often blocked their path while they dug the ant tunnels couldn't even be measured. A tower that shot past even the deepest parts the humans had been to. The people wanted to investigate this place with more detail but there were so many Baladis in the area to the point where most people couldn't even approach it. A mysterious tower that shot down deep into the Gragos which had so many Baladis that it was named after them. The others were confused but Tekilon's expression turned grim. The humans didn't know but the ones who set up the structure called the Baladi Tube was them, the Akaron. The purpose for that structure was one. The Baladi Tube that was stuck in the giant spine of the Gragos checked the fluid level that came out from the Gragos using the body fluid pressure. Like a thermometer. If there's plenty of body fluid then it will be filled up to the brim and if it was lacking then it would dry up to the bottom. A mechanism built since the Gragos will roll around if there isn't enough body fluid. Hansoo nodded at those words as he flew his body towards the Baladi Tube in order to get Ailen over there. The Baladi tube wasn't that far away from where they were. Ailen quickly checked inside the tube through the transparent window on the green wall of the tube. 'Nothing.' The body fluid that should've been filled up was gone and only a dark hole could be seen below. Ailen clenched her teeth as she fumbled with a few places on the Tube as she opened the door and shouted. "I'll be right back so wait." "Utt!" Ailen fell down the tube and checked the height of the tube after leaving behind the people's shouts. 'Though we expected this but for it to be this much…' Ailen clenched her teeth as she looked at the dried up tube. If the body fluids were at the green areas of the tube then it was safe. It meant that more Akarons could live. There was no need to clash with the Margoths either. Ailen fell for a bit longer as she started to fall past the yellow area. Yellow was warning. A stage where though there wasn't a need to clash against the Margoths yet, they should have a look at controlling their population. '…It's not even filled up to this yet.' Soon Ailen dropped past the yellow and started to fall into the red part of the tube. Red was very dangerous. Now, one of two things will happen. Either the Margoth will die or them. They needed to wage war against the Margoths. And reduce the rate at which the body fluids were being drunk. '…There's nothing here either?' The moment Ailen was shocked, the red tube ended as well. At that moment Ailen made a splashing sound as she crashed into the body fluids of the Gragos. Bubble bubble Her whole body had been smashed with a huge amount of force but that wasn't the important part. Ailen quickly looked at the surroundings. Black. 'Oh my god. How did it get down here so quickly…' The body fluids were barely filled up to the dark tube. Ailen clenched her teeth at the much more worse situation than it had been expected. She had to quickly go to the Temple and tell them. '…I must get out without them finding out.' The limitations were coming off and she could remember the location of the Temple. The words of her returning were lies in order to lose those guys. The rules told them to not lie and repay kindness but the human race was too dangerous for that as well as the current situation not being good. The moment AIlen was about to escape through the secret tunnel on the side of the tube, a splashing noise was heard from behind. 'Somebody jumped in after me?' While Ailen was shocked, Hansoo's voice was heard from inside the liquid. "It's a bit troublesome if you go alone." Hansoo also made a serious expression as he looked at the black walls. '…It's too fast. It should happen at least a year later. Anyways, it doesn't seem like this girl would take us that easily.' Hansoo frowned as he looked at Ailen who was being very cautious of him.