127 – A Precious Treasure for Someone! #4
“The inside of this tower is extremely Nymph-friendly…! Just look at how many flowers are blooming…!”
We entered the interior of the tower.
The first floor of the tower, as Inoi had said, was filled with various flowers, and it resembled a garden where butterflies and bees fluttered about.
It was truly astonishing how, inside a tower—essentially an indoor structure—the blue sky with clouds floated and the sun shone brightly.
Lee Joon-Hun, with his extensive experience as an S Rank Awakened, explained.
“This tower itself is a massive rift. Various rifts have formed and merged around this tower, creating the ecosystem of a vast otherworld.”
Since it was an anomaly created by the merging of several rifts, different environments existed on each floor.
Though the suddenly emerged island was one thing, there were still many surprises in this world.
“I gathered a lot of flowers…! I want to go home and make flower necklaces and crowns with these, to gift them to my aspiring Core Jin-A…! Then, the aspiring Core will truly become a Core…!”
Coris began to pick the flowers.
Inoi, too, picked flowers beside him and carefully placed them into the hiking backpack.
The atmosphere was very much that of a picnic.
Of course, aside from the Nymphs, everyone was busy keeping an eye on their surroundings.
“Lee Joon-Hun. You said your comrades were left on the second floor? Where’s the way up?”
“The exits and stairs keep changing in location and place. I’ve heard reports that there are several stairs leading to the upper levels, so there should be one around here somewhere.”
Yu Ara was scanning the area like a meerkat watching for eagles.
It was clear that the Black Ops team known as the “Black d*ath” from China was a cause for concern.
“The Black d*ath guys are notorious for not hesitating to use any means. If they come across Senior Il-do, they will definitely try to kidnap him and take him to China…!”
It was a very drastic thought.
I wondered if they would really forcibly kidnap someone and take them to their own country—yet Ara seemed quite unwavering in her belief.
“China has fewer rifts opening, leading to a stagnant fifth industry and a relatively low number of powerful Awakened…! There’s only one S Rank Awakened. That’s why they’re so eager to bring in talented individuals from other countries!”
“Is that so?”
I felt like I had heard something similar before.
China is a large country, but it has extremely few rifts compared to its population and territory.
It’s said that the number of Awakened individuals there is about 1/100th that of Korea.
With a population of 1.3 billion, there’s only one S Rank Awakened individual.
“If fewer rifts are opening and the number of S Rank Awakened individuals is low, it’s technically a good thing.”
That means people are safe.
Currently, people view rifts as precious resources opening up like oil fields, but in reality, rifts are essentially catastrophes.
However, in the age of the fifth industry, China, unable to utilize resources trapped within the rifts, is inevitably falling behind the international stage.
Thus, the government’s strategy involves bringing foreign Awakened individuals to China.
“By the way, not long ago, there was a thesis about strong Awakened individuals calling forth rifts—was it Doctor Edward?”
Strong Awakened individuals attract strong rifts.
And strong rifts help Awakened individuals grow even stronger.
Thanks to this infinite cycle, Korea has become the country with the most rifts opening in the world.
If the number of these Awakened individuals increases, then rifts will inevitably start opening in China as well.
This is how I understood the Chinese government’s frantic efforts to attract foreign Awakened individuals.
“Senior Il-do is truly amazing! It’s only natural that they would target him from other countries!”
Ara squealed with excitement.
I felt somewhat embarrassed.
“A shocking event in which Haildo’s Squirrel Beast stunned the 1.3 billion people of China!”
China: “We admit our defeat.”
Bright yellow text emblazoned on thumbnails of videos on MyTube flashed before my eyes.
No way, did I go too far with that?
At that moment.
“Look at that shimmering thing…! That must be the way to the treasure-laden soil of the second floor…!”
Unlike Inoi and Coris, who were focused on picking flowers, the Nymph Illinois, who was solely interested in making money, pointed at something with her hand.
There was indeed a shimmering dimensional portal in mid-air, reflecting another space through its translucent oval shape.
“That’s it! We need to go there!”
Lee Joon-Hun shouted.
He took off running first.
“Lightnari! I’ll go!”
# # #
While the first floor was a peaceful flower field, the second floor was a rocky ground teeming with quite fierce demons.
Rocky ground, huh?
Is that a weird description?
But there really were rocks and stones scattered everywhere.
“Is this… the Mana Hydrolite?”
Swoosh.
Lee Jin-A picked up a stone.
“It just looks like a rock to me.”
Even I thought it looked like a rock.
However, with a little processing, it becomes an ore with incredible energy efficiency that would leave one’s mouth agape.
“Hehehe, I’m collecting so much…! Illinois will become a super-rich Nymph, richer than any other in the world…! Totally like Forrest Gump…!”
Bang, bang, bang.
Illinois discarded all her water and food from the bag she had brought and began to stuff the stones in haphazardly.
It looked immensely heavy, yet Illinois shouted while bearing the burden as if she wasn’t tired at all.
“Now Illinois isn’t just Illinois anymore, but Kaiser Illinois…! When you call Illinois, please call me Kaiser Illinois!”
So it seemed.
Swoosh.
I absentmindedly pocketed one stone, just in case.
However, what I needed to focus on first was rescuing Lee Joon-Hun’s comrade.
Nearby, a B-Rank Demon, the “Demonic Mantis,” was quite fearsome.
A red mantis about two meters tall, standing on two legs with four clawed limbs, was indeed intimidating.
“Go, Kalilnoi!”
“Huuh, huuh…!”
“Ah! The tiger owl is a bird and is particularly strong against insects and bugs like mantises and honey ants…! That terrifying Demonic Mantis can’t even hold a candle to it…!”
Defeating demons through the mana attributes of living beings was remarkably easy.
The problem lay in the ongoing rescue operation and its current status.
“Lee Joon-Hun, your comrade might be seriously injured depending on the circumstances. Ara, prepare to administer first aid at any moment.”
It was possible that it was already too late.
At the very least, the remains would need to be recovered and returned to their family—of course, I could not bring myself to mention such a cold statement in front of Lee Joon-Hun.
“There it is…!”
Just then, as Lee Joon-Hun scanned the area, he shouted.
He ran swiftly, having found something between the rocks.
It was a small case—I recognized it well.
“It’s the charger bag, isn’t it?”
It was the bag I used to charge the Steel Spider, Myeong.
Soon, as Lee Joon-Hun opened the charger bag, he said.
“Um… it’s empty…! Lightnari, where are you? Lightnari!”
Lightnari, Lee Joon-Hun’s comrade.
I heard they were an elegantly shiny blue-colored Squirrel Beast!
“What? You came to rescue a comrade, but it’s an AI Squirrel?”
Lee Jin-A frowned slightly.
“Th-that’s…”
Lee Joon-Hun began to tremble anxiously, looking restless. When I asked him what his relationship was with his comrade, he hesitated delicately.
Lee Jin-A then asked.
“Did we really come all the way here to rescue a mechanical Squirrel? I thought you were here to save your beloved fiancé or something with how frantic you looked.”
“Th-that’s my precious comrade! Lightnari!”
Ding, ding.
At that moment, a bell chimed.
Immediately, Lee Joon-Hun hurriedly shut his mouth and put a finger to his lips, making a shush sound.
Shh.
What could it be?
Boom, rumble—a massive tremor shook the ground.
When I turned my head, I saw a monstrous figure over four meters tall with shining emerald bronze skin roaming about.
“Strange. I heard a sound.”
It was a monster covered in scars.
Seeing that, the Nymph Inoi shivered and softly said.
“That thing is the Watchman Argos…! It has a hundred eyes, but was sealed by the god Hermes and chased away, now it’s a giant wandering where it was exiled…!”
A giant who had all its eyes sealed.
I asked Ari.
“What do you think its danger rank is?”
“I’d say its subjugation rank is S-Rank. It’s a dangerous opponent.”
“Yeah. I thought so. But luckily, if it can’t see, there’s no need to confront it. We’ll avoid a fight with that thing. It seems to have keen hearing, but most of its other senses seem dull.”
If it’s an opponent I can’t defeat, I’ll avoid it.
That is the strategy for survival.
As I spoke, everyone nodded in agreement when Illinois chimed in.
“Look over there…! Kaiser Illinois has discovered a strange cage attached to the waist of that monster…! Inside it, there’s a Squirrel…!”
True to Illinois’s words, hanging from the giant’s waist was what looked like a cage, appearing to be part of its adornments.
Inside was a Squirrel with a body of sky-blue color, curled up, and it gave off a friendly vibe similar to Kkungkkungi.
“Li-Lightnari…!”
That must be Lee Joon-Hun’s precious comrade, Lightnari.
Swoosh.
Ari soon grabbed my arm and asked.
“What should we do, Senior? To rescue it, confrontation is inevitable. That monster, the ‘Blind Watchman Argos’, is definitely an S-Rank creature. According to Lee Joon-Hun, it reacts to ‘mana’.”
To rescue, we are in a situation where we must inevitably clash with an S-Rank monster.
An S-Rank monster can only be subdued by an S-Rank Awakened, and if Inoi warned that it’s “terrifying” then it surely is a powerful being.
“To risk d*ath for the sake of an AI… it seems foolish, doesn’t it? We’ve made it this far. I can’t possibly ask you all to d*e. I will….”
Huff.
Lee Joon-Hun let out a sigh.
His gaze was fixed on the giant’s waist.
“Yeah. It is a foolish thing to do.”
I nodded lightly.
Then, I pulled out Ahn Ahn from my pocket and said.
“However, abandoning a comrade is an even more foolish act. This operation isn’t about subjugation, but rescue. We just need to retrieve Lightnari and escape safely without needing to defeat or subdue the monster.”
I recalled Kkungkkungi, which I couldn’t bring along because of Lee Joon-Hun’s squirrel allergy.
If Kkungkkungi had been trapped in that cage, would I have left it behind and fled?
No.
I could never do that.
If it were Kkungkkungi, I would have worked tirelessly to save it, and if my power fell short, I would have asked others for help.
That Lightnari was Lee Joon-Hun’s Kkungkkungi.
“Haildo, you….”
Lee Joon-Hun looked at me with a shocked expression.
The glimmer of moisture filled his eyes, shining brightly.
“I knew you would say that, Senior.”
Swoosh.
Yu Ara pulled a short dagger from her pocket.
Soon, Lee Jin-A equipped her gauntlets with a clang.
“Then let’s finish this quickly. What do you want to do?”
Everyone was quick to agree.
After all, these were people I could trust as my comrades.
Now, only the operation remained.
At that moment, Inoi spoke.
“I have a good idea…! We Nymphs know what the giant Argos’s weakness is…. I’m sure we can rescue Lightnari without anyone getting hurt…!”
“Indeed, Kaiser Illinois also seems to have a plan…! With that method, we’ll surely be able to cook Argos like a piece of cake…!”
“This Coris also knows full well what that method is…! With that method, we can definitely take down Argos…!”
With hands raised high, the Nymphs danced joyfully.
