novelraw Chapter 55.1: Until You're Sick of It (5)
Chapter 55.1: Until You're Sick of It (5)
Translator: Dreamscribe
The first party to clear the boss was the “Haebyul Bunny” party. As the first to achieve this, they received a minor title and reward. However, since the event's primary focus was the fastest clear time, the reward was not considered particularly satisfactory.
Even so, there was still plenty of reason for excitement.
As the Lord of Erosion fell, its body trembled. Its armor burst apart and black currents erupted. It was the powerful energy that had sustained the Lord of Erosion.
That energy spread thickly across the boss room and was then drawn into the heroes.
“Wow!”
“This is...”
Despite all the heroes being in their level 30s, their levels increased by two. Jinwoo could see the heroes’ souls growing by devouring the energy of erosion.
Swoosh!
As the body disappeared, the core's true form was revealed. It was a sphere surrounded by black currents. It was gathering the energy of erosion, and a new body would soon form.
'Since they cleared it....'
Forcing them outside like during a party wipe wouldn't be appropriate for heroes who had succeeded.
Leon appeared next to the core. He stood still as if he intended to remain there, looking at Haebyul and the heroes.
It felt like he had resolved to stay and guard the hearts of the heroes until this Lord of Erosion completely vanished. Leon looked at the heroes and quietly took something out from his chest.
It was the Flowers of Heroes.
Leon sent the Flowers drifting toward the heroes. The petals fluttered around them, then turned into light and illuminated the surroundings.
Flash!
Just like that, the heroes were transported out of the boss room along with the light. As the bright light disappeared, Haebyul and the heroes were able to take in their new surroundings.
“Wow...”
Haebyul was amazed.
The Flowers of Heroes were in full bloom everywhere around them. The vast land was filled with Flowers of Heroes, casting beautiful light all around.
Behind them stood a fairly large cabin, and from beside it, the Land of Erosion could be seen at a glance.
It was still a terrible, twisted, and corrupted land. However, like sunlight breaking through storm clouds, there were bright patches of land here and there.
In the distance, the Magic Barrier was also visible.
Beyond that would be Evanth and various other villages.
“If it goes back to the way it used to be, the scenery would be amazing!”
"Indeed."
At Haebyul’s words, the Northern Grand Duke nodded and gazed at the scenery.
“Oh! Look at this!”
UruBear called out to them from inside the cabin.
The heroes stepped inside. The interior was filled with display cases. The walls had spaces to hang things, and the display cases were still empty.
Haebyul looked at the wall.
[You can decorate this with a photo.]
[Later visitors might leave reviews, so please leave cool photos.]
“Oh! Looks like we can hang up our photo?”
At Haebyul’s words, the heroes' expressions brightened.
As the first to clear it, they had the privilege of taking the best spot!
-Wow! This stays here permanently?
-Yeah! First clear deserves some perks! Grab the prime spot go go!
-Wow! This is so romantic, it's crazy.
Viewers’ reactions were also passionate.
Haebyul and the heroes felt a flutter in their hearts.
“Let’s go outside and take the picture!”
At Haebyul’s words, the heroes gathered in front of the cabin. At first, they stood awkwardly, but soon they naturally struck poses.
“Noona, that’s a bit stiff! Try to look natural!”
“Uh, um!”
The Northern Grand Duke smiled awkwardly and made a V-sign with her fingers. UruBear puffed up his muscles in a flexing pose, and the heroes clung to his sides.
“I’m taking it now! One! Two! Three!”
Click!
Haebyul used the camera function to take a group photo. The captured photo popped up in the information window.
“Ha! Look at those expressions!”
Haebyul burst out laughing at the heroes’ faces. The heroes did the same. Haebyul went inside and registered the photo in the best spot.
Flash!
Then the photo enlarged and was framed beautifully, hanging on the wall. The heroes stood still for a moment, looking at the picture.
Then.
Whoosh!
A white petal flew in from outside the cabin and touched the photo.
The petal shattered into light and transformed into letters.
Leon: That’s an amusing pose. Well done, Hero.
Such a message was left beneath the photo.
Haebyul and the heroes looked at the message for a moment. Amidst a mix of emotions, their hearts warmed. Smiling silently, they stood there for a while before stepping out of the cabin.
Haebyul turned her head and grinned at her party members.
“Guys, one more round?”
The answer was already decided.
“Of course.”
“Let’s go until we’re sick of it!”
As if she’d been waiting for it, the Northern Grand Duke slung her two-handed axe over her shoulder. UruBear equipped his shield once again.
“I’ll queue us right away!”
“Oh! Now that we’ve cleared it, things should go faster, right?”
“We already know all the patterns.”
The Haebyul Bunny party immediately queued up for the boss room.
Jinwoo smiled at the waiting line that didn’t decrease but instead kept increasing. After Haebyul’s party cleared the boss, all the patterns became public, and clear times began to speed up.
That was because all sorts of creative techniques emerged, optimized movement paths, ignoring certain patterns, and more.
[Krrr, KRAAAAGH! Hff!]
The scream of pain from the Erosion Core was delightful to hear. Jinwoo remained in place, watching everything unfold.
Twenty minutes, fifteen minutes, then five minutes.
As time passed, clear times plummeted drastically.
The once-empty cabin began to fill with photos of heroes. And as boss clears continued, the Land of Erosion gradually revealed its original form, as if a fog were lifting.
That was because the heroes were stealing immense amounts of erosion energy to grow, and the Erosion Core expended a great deal of power reviving. Additionally, heroes outside the raid parties continued to strip away the corrupted land.
[Boss Subjugation Records]
*1st: 4 minutes 58 seconds (Hunter)
*2nd: 6 minutes 32 seconds (Haebyul Bunny)
*3rd: 7 minutes 12 seconds (SPL Assault Team)
Even with clears this fast, there were so many parties waiting that the queue time remained long.
As soon as the Erosion Core revived, it faced the heroes. It tried every desperate move, but it was useless. The heroes moved like machines, killing machines. With optimized routes, they smashed the Erosion Core to pieces.
“Too bad.”
“I slipped up at the end. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. Let’s try again.”
The heroes exited with disappointed expressions.
Jinwoo sensed that the willpower of the Erosion Core had weakened. The prolonged torment had eaten away at its resolve. It hadn’t completely collapsed, but deep cracks had already formed.
'Hmm....'
Jinwoo examined the Erosion Core, now a sphere.
The revival time was considerable. It was still feeling intense pain during the process of regenerating its body, but Jinwoo found it lacking.
‘At this rate....’
Jinwoo gathered the surrounding erosion energy with his magic power and thrust it into the Erosion Core. The revival speed suddenly accelerated.
Flaaash!
Jinwoo’s consciousness briefly brushed the Soul Gate.
As if it sensed something, the Soul Gate gradually began to grow. The authority Jinwoo gained from reaching transcendence started to manifest bit by bit, following his magic power.
“Oh, this works.”
[W-what..., K-KRRRGH! AAAAAHH!]
As the body was forcibly and rapidly regenerated, the pain seemed to double.
[Y-you bastard...!]
"You finally noticed?"
The Erosion Core finally realized that Jinwoo was present.
It was furious.
An existence it thought it could never contend with was now looking down on it, with a face full of delight.
But the Erosion Core couldn’t change anything.
No matter how much it raged, mourned, despaired, or even begged on the floor, that fact remained unchanged.
“Looks like the wait time’s down to five seconds now.”
[Don't tell me....]
Snap!
As Jinwoo flicked his fingers, horned heroes appeared.
It was the Helby Lovers Group, still full of anger. They didn’t see Jinwoo.
Flinch!
As soon as it saw them, the Erosion Core flinched.
They were terrifying monsters. Devourers and torture experts.
A party aiming for the shortest clear time would have been a welcome sight by comparison.
A bright smile appeared on Jinwoo’s face.
'Torture party.'
The Helby Lovers Group had given up on speed records.
Instead, Hellhound was livestreaming.
The stream’s title was “Lord of Erosion Dismantling Show, Accepting All Method Submissions.” Raid team streams competing for speed records had massive viewer counts, and Hellhound’s broadcast was just as popular.
“Oh, did they patch it? The revival time’s almost gone.”
-Real-time patch is insane.
-Damn, love how they just removed the revival delay!
-Looks like we can get a few more runs in now?
-Creator God, even shaping public sentiment...!