novelraw Chapter 84: Episode 2 (4)
Chapter 84: Episode 2 (4)
Translator: Dreamscribe
Higher beings of Erosion.
Jinwoo had fought against them before, but he never clearly understood what kind of existence they truly were. They kept surging forward, devouring mythical beings, just like in the great war of Arsilan Saga.
Jinwoo let out a small laugh as he looked at the scene before him.
This place was a vast desert. It had originally been something else, but it seemed to have turned into a desert thanks to Jinwoo dropping the fragment of the moon.
The sand, which had been crushed so easily, still retained its scorching heat.
"Nice scenery."
Jinwoo began taking photos and videos.
A sphere floating next to him captured the entire area, but something still felt lacking. Jinwoo took out his smartphone and tried taking a photo with it.
When he used his smartphone like this, it strongly felt like he was on a sightseeing trip. Now that he thought about it, he was wearing shorts and a shirt, with sunglasses on.
Just based on his outfit, he was the very image of a tourist at a resort.
It matched quite well with the desert landscape around him.
"Hmm."
Yeah, this is what overseas travel feels like!
Even though he had crossed into the territory of a higher being, it somehow felt healing. In fact, he was still technically working. He was inspecting content that would be updated in the future, so this counted as working!
Maybe that was why he felt even better.
For the first time, he felt like a salary thief.
‘I’m the CEO though.’
In any case, Jinwoo, in a cheerful mood, walked forward.
He saw things buried in the sand. They were massive fragments that looked like the Gate of Erosion, seemingly collapsed from the aftermath of an explosion.
‘It must have been a serious blow.’
He had devoured the consciousness of the higher being that invaded Arsilan and obtained its massive body. On top of that, he had managed to absorb a portion of its authority. And he had even delivered the gift of the moon fragment. No matter how high and mighty the being was, it must have taken significant damage.
Jinwoo walked across the sand and paused when he came upon a flat area.
“It’d be perfect if there were just an oasis here.”
Should he make one?
Nodding to himself, Jinwoo retrieved the body left behind by the Gate of Invasion from subspace. It had now become part of Arsilan, transformed into materials for invasion.
The moment it appeared, space rippled, and a certain area became his domain. It was connected to Arsilan and also reconnected with the Soul Gate, allowing him to wield its authority.
The energy of Erosion couldn’t penetrate this area. It had the same effect as a Magic Barrier.
‘The Gate of Erosion was like that too.’
They had severed space and used cowardly swarm tactics.
Since he couldn’t keep calling it the material left behind by the Gate of Invasion forever, he figured it would be good to give it a proper name.
Alright then, let’s hear everyone’s opinion.
Jinwoo (Festival outfit, popularity rank 1): (Photo attached) I'm making an oasis with this. Got any decent name ideas?
└Tiris (Frilled bikini, popularityrank 7): How about “Mage's Stone”?
└Hallon (Triangle swimsuit, unranked): I think something like “Heavenly Jewel” sounds nice.
└Tia (Halterneck bikini, rank 5): How about “NTR Monument”? I made it using the language the heroes use.
└Airi (One-piece swimsuit, rank 3): Invasion Stone...?
Tia’s suggestion caught his eye, but Jinwoo went with the safer option and named it “Invasion Stone”. He carved the Invasion Stone to create a statue and some chairs, dug into the sand, laid stones inside, added water, and planted a large palm tree. A splendid oasis was completed.
Jinwoo sat on the chair and relaxed.
‘Now that I think about it…’
A popularity vote was currently underway in Evanth.
Heroes could buy a voting ticket with one festival coin.
Jinwoo watched the performances in Evanth through the news network’s broadcast. The people of Arsilan were going up on stage one by one, showing off their charm and receiving the enthusiastic cheers of the heroes.
[Kunka-nim is striking a pose! Wow! That’s a perfect side chest! The orcs stabbed him with swords, but they just bounce off! Muscles as hard as steel! Kunka-nim is currently ranked 23rd! Oh! His rank just went up the moment I said that! 21st! He’s now 21st! The power of muscles is incredible!]
-Ah! So big and solid.
-Really impressive.
-Something about this… makes my mind go blank.
Kim Seok-jun was passionately delivering the broadcast. Though the popularity vote had started off as a lighthearted event, the people of Arsilan were competing as if they had entered a battlefield.
[Please give a warm round of applause to Kunka-nim for his amazing performance! Up next is Helby-nim, who is currently in 2nd place! Ever since Saintess Airi-nim sang the hymn, she has been just one step away from surpassing Helby-nim! We can’t wait to see what kind of performance she’ll show us!]
-Helby-nim is so cute!
-Uwaaah! I love you!
-Hehehe!
Helby stepped onto the stage with a serious expression. She was earnestly aiming for first place. Jinwoo, who had done absolutely nothing, was currently holding the number one spot.
‘Nice.’
It was a pleasant sight.
The people of Arsilan were thoroughly enjoying the grand festival. Though they usually smiled brightly, there had always been a shadow in their eyes, but now, not even a trace of that could be seen.
Peace.
The peace they had protected was this beautiful.
[Uooooh! Here it is! Helby-nim’s ultimate pose! The destructive force is incredible! The narrowing gap widens once again! Many heroes are pouring out their festival coins!]
A window floating beside the Evanth stage showed real-time voting status. It had been neck-and-neck with Airi, but Helby was starting to pull ahead.
Riding the momentum, Helby didn’t stop!
[No way! A hand kiss, no less! It’s like the breath of the heavens is sweeping through!]
“......”
Jinwoo was at a loss for words for a moment.
...She’s really putting in the effort.
Jinwoo had been hoping Helby would be more popular than Leon, but after seeing that, he suddenly didn’t want to lose.
He closed the window and stood up from the chair.
Unexpectedly, the sky in this space was normal. The sun was a little dimmer, but day and night existed.
There was even a blue sky.
It was completely different from the Core of Erosion, which had dominated everything and created horrific scenery.
Jinwoo took a picture of the oasis with the sand dunes in the background.
After checking the result, Jinwoo shook his head. It was definitely a romantic photo.
‘Still feels a bit weak.’
Episode 3: The Great Desert!
What if this landscape was released with such a tagline?
Jinwoo closed his eyes and imagined it. The faces of the heroes appeared in his mind, and they all had ambiguous expressions. This kind of healing could be experienced in Arsilan too.
There was a lack of dopamine.
This wasn’t enough to stimulate the emotions of the heroes!
[Current Players Online: 3,421,432]
Even now, the number of heroes continued to increase.
At this rate, it looked like they would hit ten million before the year was over.
Jinwoo had declared that Episode 2 would be ten times more fun for those who missed Episode 1, and thankfully, he had been able to keep that promise.
Then, how would the newbie heroes who missed Episode 2 feel? They would no doubt have high expectations as well.
Something stronger than Episode 1 and Episode 2 was needed.
“Guess I’ll look around a bit more.”
Jinwoo made the Hero’s Flower bloom around the oasis and then soared into the air.
The day began to darken, and night fell. As Jinwoo moved forward, he saw a light in the distance. He repeated teleportation and headed toward the light.
“That is...”
Jinwoo’s eyes widened.
He wasn’t someone who got surprised easily, but the scene before him was so bizarre that even he was shocked.
First of all, beneath Jinwoo was a massive hole.
It was so enormous that even if Solis and Marogo entered it together, there would still be plenty of space left. On top of that, it was so deep that the bottom couldn’t be seen. Within that hole, he could feel an intense energy of Erosion and Authority.
Around that vast and deep hole were countless lights. Towns and cities had formed nearby, and beyond them was a colossal city that looked like the capital of the former Gartas Empire.
This vast place was an empire in itself.
It felt like witnessing the prime of the Kartas Empire, the most powerful nation in Arsilan’s history.
Jinwoo closely observed the area surrounding the hole.
Countless people were entering the hole, and they were coming back out with jewels or minerals. They didn’t look normal. Most of them were shriveled like mummies, working with great difficulty.
“Move!”
The soldier swinging the whip was at least somewhat intact in form.
To one side, mummies that could no longer move were piled high, and the soldiers were dumping them directly into the pit. As the mound of mummies fell into the hole, they disappeared into the darkness.
It seemed they were being devoured.
A moment later, new people appeared beside the mound of corpses. Just like discarding useless products and bringing out new ones, they appeared in that manner. It looked like they had been copied, just like what the Core of Erosion had done.
The soldiers herded them like livestock toward the city.
Jinwoo examined the souls of the soldiers.
Their souls were completely corrupted, and at their core was the will of Erosion. That will was feeding on greed and sending it toward the massive city in the distance.
The accumulated greed was rising toward the sky, while the people’s suffering was being funneled into the deep abyss.
Jinwoo cloaked himself and descended near the hole. He looked at the pile of jewels and minerals. Judging by the energy of Erosion contained in them, it seemed they had been produced by that hole.
‘At least D-rank quality?’
High-grade gems that appeared to be B-rank or higher were selected and taken away by better-dressed figures.
Their souls were filled with sticky greed and darkness. Fittingly, their bodies were bloated to the point they looked like monsters.
The large wagons were piled high with jewels and minerals. The ones pulling the wagons were the shriveled slaves.
“Hm.”
Jinwoo stored the entire wagon in his subspace.
“Huh?”
“W-what the...?”
The bloated ones looked around in shock. Jinwoo stared at them, then pushed them into the hole.
“Uwaaaagh!”
“Kyaaaah! No, please!”
Their reactions weren’t bad.
Though the will of Erosion was embedded in their souls, they seemed to be maintaining their sense of self.
Jinwoo looked at where they had fallen. He saw one desperately clinging to the wall. With a snap of Jinwoo’s fingers, the man's hand was severed, and he fell.
After a short while, the revived figures reappeared in front of Jinwoo. Their bloated forms were gone, and they now looked like normal people. Everything that had been piled up in their souls had vanished.
“L-let go of me!”
“Aaaagh! I-I’m not a slave!”
The nearby soldiers dragged them to where the other slaves were. It was quite a fascinating system. Jinwoo teleported to the nearest city.
“Oh.”
The city viewed from the air was rich and abundant.
There were Arsilan fruits and plenty of delicious-looking foods. Some people were adorned with jewels, ornaments, and treasure-like decorations. The slaves were working under them until they withered completely, and in the end, they were sent to the pit.
‘Population’s big too.’
This city alone easily held several hundred thousand, and there were several similar cities around the hole. Even this was just a part of it.
Jinwoo closely inspected multiple cities.
The ruling class of the cities was thoroughly corrupted, and the will of Erosion was deeply embedded in them. The lower-ranking soldiers moved like machines without self-awareness, obeying only the commands of the ruling class.
Each city had a temple that looked quite impressive.
Inside the temples were luxury goods and symbols made by melting down entire chunks of gold.
The clerics were living outrageously lavish lives.
‘Trying to become some kind of god?’
Jinwoo chuckled at the thought.
The higher being had been engaged in bizarre acts for a long time. He didn’t know what its purpose was, but it was clear it would be harmful to Arsilan. Jinwoo captured all the scenery of the cities in photos and videos and climbed up the city wall.
There were many treasures here that didn’t exist in Arsilan.
Rare minerals were piled up, and there was also an abundance of fruits and food filled with the energy of Erosion.
The more Jinwoo looked over the city, the deeper his smile became.
“Seriously....”
Perfect for looting.
“Nice.”
The theme for Episode 3 came to him right at that moment.
There was hardly an act more dopamine-releasing than pillaging.
There was no risk of becoming a war criminal either.
You could steal, burn, and kill, indulging in irresponsible pleasure without consequence. After all, everything that existed here had originally belonged to Arsilan.
‘Should I give them just a taste?’
It didn’t seem like a bad idea to let them sample the joy of plunder in advance.
Jinwoo rose into the air and moved outside the city.
He spotted wagons heading toward the city. They were loaded with treasures and escorted by soldiers.
At the center of the procession was a bloated man. From a luxurious palanquin, he was ravenously tearing into meat, displaying an insatiable appetite.
Jinwoo canceled his stealth and descended to the front of the procession.
The soldiers, who looked like mummies, drew their weapons and aimed them at him. The bloated man inside the palanquin scowled and glared at Jinwoo.
"Who are you? You don’t look like a slave...."
"Haven’t heard imperial tongue in a while. Kinda refreshing."
The bloated man spoke in the language of the Empire.
Jinwoo observed him closely. He looked familiar. Though his face had become bloated with fat, Jinwoo was certain he had seen him somewhere before.
Jinwoo rummaged through his subspace and pulled out an old notebook.
Inside it were photos of the first ones to fall to corruption and become agents of Erosion.
There were especially many from the Empire.
While the people of Arsilan were generally kind-hearted by nature, the imperial citizens had a different disposition. The first to fall into corruption had also come from the Empire.
“Kill him.”
Dozens of soldiers charged at Jinwoo. With a flick of his hand, their bodies exploded without a trace. The bloated man flinched in shock.
Jinwoo flipped through the notebook and found his face.
“Purpuzan? You’re Purpuzan, right? The ninth-grade official of the imperial royal family. The one who opened the city gates and led to the massacre of hundreds of thousands.”
Purpuzan panicked.
Well, it had been more than a hundred years ago. Whatever he had been promised by the higher being at that time was likely connected to what Jinwoo was seeing now.
Jinwoo approached Purpuzan.
With a wave of his hand, the slaves were pushed aside, and the palanquin Purpuzan was riding fell to the ground.
“Gahk!”
Jinwoo looked down at Purpuzan and inscribed a magic circle into his soul. He stored the treasure-laden wagons into subspace and levitated Purpuzan into the air. Then, he teleported with Purpuzan toward the oasis.
“D-Do you dare defy the will of the G-Great God?!”
Purpuzan trembled as he spoke.
Jinwoo raised a finger, and Purpuzan’s body twisted grotesquely.
“Gyaaagh!”
Apparently, he could feel pain properly. And he feared death, too.
“I’ve got something I’m curious about. Mind answering?”
Purpuzan nodded frantically. He told Jinwoo everything he knew.
Once Jinwoo had extracted all the information, he looked down at Purpuzan.
Seeing him, an event idea to entertain the heroes suddenly came to mind. When Jinwoo smiled, Purpuzan rolled his eyes and awkwardly smiled along.
“You good at acting?”
“N-No, not really.”
“You’d better be.”
Purpuzan’s face went pale.
“I-I’ll do my best!”
“Then play the role of a Golden Goblin.”
“Huh?”
Jinwoo moved with Purpuzan to Arsilan.
Purpuzan was completely shocked by the scenery of Arsilan. The Arsilan he had assumed was destroyed now unfolded clearly before his eyes.
“W-What… A-Arsilan?”
"Magnificent, isn't it?"
Jinwoo took out the wagon and selected some decent treasures to put inside. Then, he attached Purpuzan’s hands to the wagon. A magic circle engraved itself on his body, and he transformed into a fat goblin radiating golden light.
Jinwoo dropped the Golden Goblin between Solis and Marogo.
“Do your best to run.”
It wouldn’t be fun if he got caught too quickly, so Jinwoo greatly enhanced the Golden Goblin’s physical abilities. He also engraved a curse magic circle that would cause excruciating pain if he stayed still.
“Uhehehe! You think you can catch me? Come on, show me some effort!”
‘Gyaaaagh! It hurts!’
The Golden Goblin screamed in agony, but the sound came out in a comical voice and tone. The Golden Goblin began frantically running around, pulling the wagon behind him.
[A Golden Goblin has appeared in Arsilan! The Golden Goblin carries extremely rare treasures!]
*Location will be announced every 30 minutes.
*Weapon use is permitted.
An event announcement popped up in front of every hero, making the grand festival even hotter.
“Huh?”
“Golden Goblin?”
“Wow! There’s no time to rest with this!”
[The Golden Goblin’s location has been shared!]
Once the coordinates of the Golden Goblin were shared, countless heroes poured out and began chasing after it.
“Oooooh!”
“There it is! Over there!”
“Get it!”
“Guys! Hit that thing. It drops jewels.”
“Whoa! It’s dropping jewels while running! This is insane!”
The faces of the heroes who had spotted the Golden Goblin were filled with madness and pleasure.
Jinwoo looked upon the scene with a deeply satisfied expression.
How would the heroes react when Episode 3 was announced?
He could hardly wait.
*****
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