novelraw Chapter 37 : Louvre Museum (1)
Chapter 37 : Louvre Museum (1)
Chapter 37: Louvre Museum (1)
Hwarruk.
Surging flames.
The exterior of the museum they had arrived at looked very different from what they had known.
“ Healer! Deal with this side first. The bleeding— the bleeding won't stop!”
“ The raid that entered through the west entrance was wiped out. Captain Jamie of the raid team also died in battle.”
“ Hurry and evacuate the civilians. The stronghold is growing bigger!”
Hunters who had collapsed with severe injuries. Raid leaders shouting at the top of their lungs.
There was no trace of order in the mess where several guilds were tangled together.
‘This was worse than he’d thought.’
Kang Yohan tasted the bitterness on his tongue as he looked at the magic-tinged battlefield spread before him.
The stronghold transformation they had tried to stop had already been completed.
Kukukukuku!
Far above the museum, a gigantic shark skeleton floated.
It was the fossil of a megalodon, known as one of the ancient, strongest predators.
Besides that, countless artifacts affected by the Sacred Relic were awakening.
They were filled to the brim with black demonic energy.
＊
When the Louvre Museum became a stronghold it always resulted in massive casualties.
It was enormous, and there were many Sacred Relics inside it.
Moreover, it was already 7 p.m.
The sun had just started to set.
Right then.
Ttirring!
[The moon’s aura increased the stats of monsters present in the Louvre Museum by +5%.]
A red status window appeared before the hunters.
“W-what…?”
“Are they... getting stronger here too?”
“Damn it. Those blasted orcs— what the hell did they do?”
Three of the raid teams that had already entered the museum had been annihilated; five teams had retreated with serious injuries.
Even though the main raid squads were inside the gate….
……the losses were far too great for fighting only orcs.
“ Master Yohan. Wouldn’t it be better if we waited until sunrise to go in?”
“No.”
Kang Yohan shook his head at Scarlett de Juliard’s suggestion.
It was true that the moon’s light strengthened monsters the brighter it became.
But there was no need to wait until morning.
Because….
[Due to the moon’s aura, the stats of Nobles of the Night increase by +10%.]
This stronghold effect also affected the vampires.
And the percentage rise was even larger than it was for the monsters inside the museum.
Wooooong!
Magical energy spreading along his entire body.
He felt warm vigor flowing through the corners of his veins.
Well, it was certainly impressive.
Ten percent would make a perceptible difference.
And.
When the moon’s aura peaked at midnight, that effect would surge past 20%.
That would be the timing to enter the museum.
‘If the stronghold had been stopped before it completed, time would have been life, but now that it’s already finished they needed to move after creating the best possible condition.’
For the next three hours, additional buffs and barriers from the successful stronghold would trigger one after another.
Rushing in then would not be a wise choice.
Scarlett would also be tired from the fight with the orcs a short while ago, so a bit of rest was warranted.
Above all, they had to take time to confirm the hidden class obtained through the Egg of Darkness.
‘The wager Baekryeong proposed hadn’t been settled yet either.’
Kim Geunsik.
Surely, that guy was somewhere here too.
He had seen Kim Geunsik take out a cube fragment just before crossing over here.
‘He wouldn’t be safe until he stole the Knight’s Token and dealt with Meiba.’
Members of the Requiem Cult were, by nature, the kind who would stop at nothing.
“ For now. Let’s rest and eat something.”
“ Yes… ah, yes! Understood!”
Scarlett, who had been staring blankly at Kang Yohan, started up in surprise.
Kang Yohan and Scarlett walked side by side.
“ But I was really surprised. I assumed it would be advantageous to wait until morning… You read books so diligently that you know everything about what’s outside the tower now? That we’d also receive that buff. That’s from a book, right?”
“Yeah. I read it in that—what was it called— ‘Surviving in the Museum.’”
Being a bookworm served as a very convenient excuse.
He was being mistaken for something he wasn’t, but there was no need to correct her.
They were about to settle for emergency rations distributed by the French Hunter Association to ease their hunger.
Scarlett nearly jumped out of her skin, grabbed Kang Yohan’s wrist, and headed down the street.
She said that a noble of the night could not be seen crouching miserably on the street eating a sandwich. Or something like that.
“ This place will do.”
Scarlett barged into a fancy-looking restaurant.
The ‘Closed’ sign hanging plainly on the door must have been invisible to her.
Clack!
The glass door moved without mercy.
“ Is anyone here? Bring me wine and food that pairs with it.”
“ I’m sorry, but we are not open at the moment.”
Employees who were about to finish cleaning and evacuate politely refused.
They still maintained their manners even in this chaos.
Apologies — he was a nuisance customer.
But Scarlett took their refusal as an insult.
“How amusing. To have the gall to refuse my order. I hope that moustache and your kitchen knife will suffice to keep your life.”
Ptss.
Small droplets of blood gathered at the tip of the parasol.
Was she sane?
“ No violence. No blood threads, skewers, or anything else. All forbidden.”
“ B-but!”
“Oh ho. Not allowed!”
“ Y-yes….”
Slightly deflated, Scarlett bit her lip.
“I don’t know what you intend to do, but please leave before I call the police.”
“ I will pay. More than enough.”
“This is quite troublesome. You people really don’t understand words, do you? We don’t need money. Don’t you even realize that the orcs have crossed over and everything’s in chaos…?”
Behind Scarlett, a subspace opened.
Rustle—
From within, dazzling gold coins poured out.
Not dozens, but hundreds—enough to completely cover the carpet.
“…That’s… a bit too much to refuse, isn’t it?”
That moment proved it.
Of all kinds of violence in the world, the most effective one was—
‘Capitalistic violence.’
“You said the orcs have crossed over and we should evacuate—will you be fine staying here?”
“I’ll put up a sign at the entrance that says ‘No Orcs Allowed.’ Besides, our head chef is quite skilled with a knife.”
“Ooooh!”
The chef in the white hat inside the kitchen swung his knife through the air.
If push came to shove, the entire staff looked ready to take up frying pans and pots to defend themselves.
“This way, please. We’ve prepared a table with a fine view of the night scenery.”
Seeing how they were now even guiding them to seats, Kang Yohan was once again reminded of the overwhelming power of gold.
＊＊＊
While the food was being prepared, a fine bottle of wine was served first.
Romanée-Conti 1990. And not just that—it was a Great Vintage.
“Not bad.”
“Thank you.”
Scarlett elegantly sampled the wine.
Born and raised in a noble family, she drank that expensive bottle as if it were nothing.
How much allowance would someone need to be able to throw around gold so lavishly?
‘Well, thanks to her, I’ll be able to rest properly for a few hours, so I guess I should be thankful.’
Now that he had some breathing room—
It was finally time to check his hidden class.
Kang Yohan calmed his racing heart and activated his personal status window.
[Kang Yohan]
Class: Magus of the Void
Star Rank: 2nd Moon – 5 Stars
Unique Ability: Hour of the Extinguished Moon
Strength 15 Agility 25 Magic 35
Physical Defense: 60 + 6
Magical Defense: 100 + 10
Skill: ‘Black Devourer’
Trait: [Sacred Flame]
Flame, frost, lightning, and so on—
Ordinarily, a mage chose only one of these main elemental trees as a specialization.
However, the hidden class Magus of the Void suffered no such restrictions, even after mastering them all.
As long as the right conditions were met, it meant one could even become an Archmage of All Classes.
On top of that—
‘Void Magic.’
It was the only class capable of drawing upon power from the Void Dimension, outside this world.
Its growth difficulty was extreme, but in exchange, its potential was beyond imagination.
It even granted a random skill upon awakening.
‘Black Devourer.’
Gulp.
Yohan swallowed dryly.
This was a jackpot he hadn’t even dreamed of.
He’d received one of the best random skills possible.
It must also have influenced the fact that, right after awakening, he had already reached the 2nd Moon rank.
‘The awakening through the Egg of Darkness must have played a big part too.’
Yohan’s eyes moved downward.
Even though he wasn’t wearing any special gear, his physical defense was 60 and his magical defense 100.
That was higher than a fully armed A-rank Hunter.
‘Pure-blood lineage.’
Truly, the saying that bloodlines could be overpowered wasn’t just a rumor.
A magic stat of 35 was an excellent start.
His strength was a little lacking, but his agility was above average.
‘The unique ability probably can’t be used until I reach the 3rd Moon, so for now, it’s out of reach.’
He still had more to check, but the main parts were all confirmed.
Next—
Yohan carefully opened his subspace.
Then—
Ssshh.
A white puppy wreathed in black flames shaped like eastern clouds walked out.
Not one body with three heads, but three separate puppies.
[‘Eyes of the Prophet’ has been activated!]
[Due to restrictions, only partial information of the target can be viewed.]
[Name: Unknown]
Species: Ancient Breed
Star Rank: Unknown
Unique Ability: Celestial Black Cloud (天上黑雲)
Description: Manifested through the medium known as the Egg of Darkness. Detailed information cannot be determined.
‘That cloud-like aura was suspicious from the start…’
It was clearly different from the Cerberus he knew.
Its unique ability wasn’t ‘Celestial Black Cloud,’ and its fur color used to be black, not white.
‘Maybe it’s still young… or perhaps it’s an entirely different species.’
The restrictions seemed extremely high, making it impossible to analyze further.
In that case, he’d have to take time and study it slowly.
“Act cute. Humans apparently like that.”
“Pant, pant. Cute. I am.”
“Hmph. Still, this place has quite an air of class.”
The three puppies nestled into the black clouds and rolled onto their backs, showing their bellies.
Their sapphire-blue eyes sparkled between their white fur.
“Wow! Master Yohan, what are these? They’re so—so cute!”
Scarlett squealed in excitement.
“Heh. She’s completely fallen for my irresistible charm.”
“Pant, pant. Hungry. Belly.”
“Master Yohan, it says it’s hungry! And more than that—it can talk!”
“Calm down a bit. You’ll bite your tongue like that.”
Just then, a staff member carrying several dishes muttered awkwardly,
“I’m sorry, but pets aren’t allowed in the restaurant…”
Clink.
A fragment of diamond, no larger than a pinky nail, dropped onto the plate held by the waiter.
“Shall I warm up some milk? We have French, Swiss, and Italian varieties.”
“Bring that—plus every dish with meat you have.”
A short while later, the table was filled with all sorts of dishes: beef steak with roasted potatoes, lobster, and fresh salad among others.
With the addition of perfectly paired wine, it was a meal worthy of being called a feast.
“W-what is this? We thought the bones you used to toss us were the entirety of the world!”
“Woof! Chomp chomp! Pant pant!”
“Delicious… yeah.”
The puppies wagged their tails like helicopter blades.
“Hoho. I’m tempted to kidnap your chef to make them our family’s exclusive cook.”
The puppies and Scarlett exclaimed in admiration as they focused entirely on eating.
Chewing on a large piece of meat, Yohan began to ponder the one remaining task.
Hmm. Right.
He needed to give them a name.
He had considered Cerberus, but since they weren’t the same species, something different was needed.
Let’s see.
“How about Chobok, Jungbok, and Malbok? Together, that makes Sambok.”
He reflected the trait of being three in number—
And each name, taken from seasonal terms, served as a warning to stay alert and not rebel against their master.
A masterpiece. Truly.
Whichever house raised him, their naming sense was top-tier in the whole world.
“……What?”
The puppies froze at once.
As if unsure they’d heard right, all six ears twitched repeatedly.
“Master Yohan, did you perhaps eat something strange…? No, wait. The chef must’ve poisoned you. There’s no way a sane person could come up with such a thing!”
Scarlett’s expression twisted into pure disgust.
However, the name Sambok already rolled off Yohan’s tongue perfectly.
Several heated arguments followed afterward, but nothing changed.
After all, only the recognized master had the right to name a summoned creature newly born from an egg.
Meanwhile, time slipped by—until it was midnight.
Wooong—
The mana flowing through his body grew even denser.
[Due to the moon’s aura, the stats of Nobles of the Night increase by +20%.]
Scarlett’s eyes began to glow a deep ruby red.
＊＊＊
At the underground entrance of the Louvre Museum.
Because of the fierce battle that had lasted for hours, the surroundings were soaked in blood.
The city’s symbolic museum had fallen into the hands of the orcs, so of course, the Hunters were desperately trying to reclaim it.
As such, the battle raged on even past midnight.
[You have entered the Stronghold ‘Louvre Museum’.]
[Due to the stronghold transformation, spatial distortion is in effect.]
[Scale increased tenfold.]
The already massive museum had truly become gigantic.
Upon entering, the smell of blood and dim flickering lights greeted them.
Corpses were everywhere.
Orcs.
And Hunters.
The lifeless bodies of both races lay scattered throughout the corridors.
Ttzzk. Chzzz!
Sparks dropped from a flickering light bulb above.
“M-museums are… pretty scary places, huh? You don’t think they’ve got ghosts on display too, right?”
Scarlett clung tightly to Yohan’s arm, trembling all over.
What was she even talking about?
Did she think a museum was some haunted mansion?
Besides, what kind of vampire was afraid of this sort of thing? She could slice down any monster without hesitation—but ghosts scared her?
“Honestly. You really are such a coward.”
Yohan smirked, thinking this would be a good opportunity to teach her what it truly meant to be a noble of the night.
But just then—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Something massive was coming down the corridor.
The stench of blood grew thicker.
“Grrrr….”
With a bone-chilling growl—
Two glowing eyes appeared out of the darkness.
“Master Yohan! I’ll trust you on this!”
“Heh. What a shame. If I’d matured for just another month, it would’ve been bite-sized for me.”
“Pant pant. Can’t eat. Too big.”
“It’s not that I’m scared! I just— I left something behind, that’s all! Could you open the subspace again? Please?”
Scarlett and Sambok hid behind Yohan’s back.
“Uh… hmm.”
Okay, maybe this was a little scary….