novelraw Chapter 55.2: Until You're Sick of It (5)
Chapter 55.2: Until You're Sick of It (5)
Translator: Dreamscribe
Hellhound looked at the Erosion Core and grinned. The Helby Lovers Group who came with him shared the same look. Ever since they visited the Platinum Coin Shop, they had gone on a wild hunting spree and were now strong enough to take on the Erosion Core.
Their levels had skyrocketed, reaching the high 30s.
Their souls had grown, and their bodies had become far more powerful.
[Please, please stop!]
(Kuhuhu! I wonder how sweet it would taste to tear apart a Magic Dragon?)
Hellhound burst out laughing at the taunting voice he heard.
“Tor… torture is increasing!”
Hellhound had a knack for entertainment.
When he hosted his dismantling show, people started calling it “torture dismemberment” or “torture-type raid”, and ever since, he’d kept adding quips like that.
[Kuhhk! Graaagh!]
In less than ten minutes, they had subdued it. The Helby Lovers Group was ranked 10th at the moment. They could have climbed higher, but chose not to. That was because something more important awaited them.
Hellhound and the Helby Lovers Group coated a butcher’s knife with Holy Water they received from the Church.
It was a +5 butcher’s knife. They had invested all their gold into crafting it for this very purpose.
[St-stop! I beg you! Please, someone stop them!]
(Huhuhu! As if it would change anything!)
The Erosion Core pleaded with Jinwoo.
Jinwoo silently observed, gathering magic power to concentrate the erosion energy even more. This would yield even more rewards now.
Squish! Crunch!
Hellhound handled magic skillfully.
His handiwork was impressive. He inserted the butcher’s knife between the gaps in the armor and started peeling it away piece by piece.
“Let’s try boiling the Holy Water and pouring it in! This idea was sent by HelbyHeaven. Since holy power doesn't evaporate even when boiled, it seems worth trying."”
They boiled Holy Water in a pot.
“Where should we pour it? Ah! The groin? Great choice!”
Crunch!
They tore away the armor around the groin and inserted a tube. Then they poured the boiling Holy Water in.
[GRAAAGH! GYAAAAH!]
It seemed quite effective due to its high divine energy content. All the armor was stripped off, revealing shriveled black bones underneath.
Much of it was gone, but plenty still remained.
-This round of farming is really sweet!
-Another rise in torture achieved.
-Other parties’ torture levels are impressive too.
Once the Erosion Core died, Hellhound picked up the items it dropped with a satisfied look and accepted more submissions for new methods. He was then summoned out of the boss room.
Swoosh!
[Kuhhk!]
Jinwoo revived it again in an instant. Then he summoned the next party. As time passed, the Erosion Core became a punching bag. Speed-run parties were hitting 3-minute clears, and torture-type parties could completely dismantle its armor within 10 minutes.
The Core’s will was nearly broken, and the erosion energy only barely managed to cling to the land. Heroes whose levels had dramatically risen had now stopped growing. The energy the Core released upon death no longer yielded experience.
“Hm.”
Watching the wretched thing suffer brought Jinwoo endless joy, and he never tired of it.
But the same couldn’t be said for the heroes. Slaying a weak monster brought no sense of accomplishment. They had gotten bored.
Jinwoo posted a notice for the event’s end.
The end time was set for 30 minutes before the regular server maintenance.
Jinwoo watched the Erosion Core suffer up until maintenance with a smile on his face.
“Uwah!”
“So close!”
Thirty minutes before maintenance, the final party killed the Erosion Core and was summoned out.
The Erosion Core was now hazy and tattered like a rag. Jinwoo came down to the ground and quietly gazed at the Erosion Core.
Even if left alone, it did revive. But it was no longer in its original form. Only the upper body barely remained intact.
Its will was also on the verge of shattering.
Even its sense of self seemed like it would disappear at any moment.
[Kuhhk, p-please....]
The Erosion Core crawled along the ground and grabbed Jinwoo’s foot.
[S-stop it. Please, stop....]
The Erosion Core had weakened to the point where it would crumble underfoot. Within the immense pain, it could feel nothing but despair and fear. Jinwoo slowly shook his head and stepped on its hand. The hand crumbled and vanished.
“What a shame.”
Jinwoo was disappointed.
“In the end, you couldn’t become a top-tier supporting character.”
Thanks to the attention Jinwoo gave it, the staging was decent, but only just. It wasn’t anything truly memorable.
[J-just destroy me. T-take it all, just take everything....]
“Oh, I will. But that part’s not my role.”
Breaking its will wasn’t Jinwoo’s job.
Jinwoo summoned his authority.
Guuguguuk!
Behind Jinwoo, space warped, and something massive appeared. It was the Soul Gate, floating in the sky. Swirling with the power of souls, it appeared utterly mystical.
[A-ahh....]
But to the Erosion Core, it looked very different.
It was a colossal gate. A gate engraved with the images of countless heroes. To the Core, it looked like a horrifying gate to hell.
[Transcendent] Soul Gate +1
A heart born of pure will tempers the soul.
Over 100,000 Heroes had passed through the Soul Gate, and as their souls grew, the Soul Gate is strengthened. The more Heroes summoned and the more they grew, the stronger the Soul Gate became, and with that, its authority increase as well.
*You can now borrow the power of a Hero to completely subdue and enslave a spiritual being.
*You can now carry more objects.
The Core had not yet been fully subdued.
It was as if only the final blow remained. From the Soul Gate, chains embedded with nails shot out. They pierced the Core’s body and dragged it into the air.
Crunch!
Jinwoo stretched out his hand and pierced the Core’s chest.
The Erosion Core was caught in his grasp. The power contained within the Core began to fall under Jinwoo’s control.
[GYAAAAH! J-just kill me!]
Jinwoo left its ego intact.
He forcibly held its collapsing will together. He didn’t completely dominate it, he only meant to use it.
To use everything it had.
“The final blow will be struck by the heroes.”
The finish belonged to them.
It was the role of the heroes.
Jinwoo had a duty to make that finale grand and entertaining. After all, he was the CEO of FS Games, and the game’s developer.
Yes, let’s prepare a grand event that everyone can enjoy.
“Haha!”
Jinwoo let out a loud laugh for the first time in a long while.
Suuuu!
The energy of erosion was all sucked into Jinwoo’s hand.
KWAGAGAGANG!
A black pillar burst out, piercing the boss room and shooting into the sky. As Jinwoo’s magic combined with the Magic Tower’s power and illusion magic, an overwhelming spectacle unfolded, as if the sky itself had cracked.
The heroes still outside the boss room until server maintenance were shocked by the sudden display.
“W-whoa! Is this a teaser for a new event?!”
“Wow! I got chills!”
“If it had ended here, it would’ve been disappointing!”
“So Erosion was just the pre-festival?!”
“It was a bit underwhelming, honestly.”
Everyone clenched their fists and cheered.
The heroes, brimming with confidence after defeating the Lord of Erosion, were unable to contain their newly gained strength.
They all watched the scene with anticipation on their faces.
[The server has been shut down!]
Something big is coming!
Something truly massive is coming!
With the overwhelming teaser for the event, regular maintenance began.
* * *
Flaash!
With a cluster of light, many Arsilan people, including Tia, Heina, and Helby, appeared atop the Flowers of Heroes.
“Ah....”
Tia stared blankly at the land they had lost. The other Arsilan people were the same. Though still dark as if veiled by a black curtain, the land’s old form was beginning to reemerge.
The energy of erosion had not reached this place.
Thanks to that, they, the people of Arsilan, could now stand on this land.
Tia’s eyes turned red with emotion.
Tiris, who had been blankly gazing at the scene, gently patted Tia.
“I met Master on that mountain, you know.”
“I met him over there! You can’t see it yet, but it’s there.”
Tia wiped her tears and replied energetically.
A soft smile formed on Heina’s lips. Luceren, Garsha, and the Beastkin who appeared one after another danced among the Flowers of Heroes.
Helby stood with her arms crossed, quietly watching the scene.
“They actually pulled it off.”
Helby was speechless.
Those idiots, those foolhardy guys, had done something not even the Archmage or the Magic Dragon could accomplish.
It was simply unbelievable.
She was simply, utterly dumbfounded.
Yet, contrary to her thoughts, her heart overflowed with fierce emotion.
She was happy. And proud.
She was filled with pride.
Helby placed a hand on her chest and took a deep breath.
“Let’s go inside!”
When Tia entered the cabin first, everyone followed her in.
They couldn’t help but be surprised. The cabin was filled with photographs. All the heroes were smiling and striking various poses.
“Ah! It’s Haebyul unnie!”
Mia spotted Haebyul and cheered.
Luceren looked at the gallant photos of the hunters and beamed brightly.
Helby looked at a photo of the Helby Lovers Group proudly displayed on one side of the cabin. They were clenching their fists while holding a black skull.
On their heads, instead of helmets, they still wore horns.
“I told them to wear helmets... those dumbasses.”
Helby’s eyes curled softly.
They were stupid faces she could never get tired of.
When she touched the photo, a message window popped up.
Helby: Your dazed expressions are worth seeing. I'll give you praise. Well done.
That was the message Helby left.
“Hehe! I want to leave comments on all of them!”
“Well, I do know a lot of these heroes. I suppose I have no choice.”
Tia and Heina left messages on each photo.
All the Arsilan people wandered around the cabin, leaving heartfelt messages behind.
Luceren glanced at Garsha and smiled faintly.
“In the end, our hunters are ranked number one, aren’t they?”
“The first clear goes to our Haebyul Bunny.”
“Does that really matter?”
“Of course it does.”
Luceren and Garsha engaged in a subtle battle of pride.
“Hmph, my mutts made the top ten even with the penalty of not wearing helmets. They deserve a five-minute deduction. That practically makes them first place.”
Helby said that as she raised her chin.
“Everyone’s here.”
When Jinwoo entered the cabin, everyone turned to him and greeted him. All of this had been part of Jinwoo’s plan.
Even if they couldn’t fight together inside the erosion, they could still cheer them on.
What kind of expression would the heroes make when they saw this?
Jinwoo was incredibly curious about that.
"It must be hard for you."
“Hm?”
Tia looked at Jinwoo sympathetically.
“You have to write all of these in Leon’s voice, right?”
“Ah....”
“If it’s Leon, he wouldn’t just copy and paste, so hang in there.”
“Sigh.”
Jinwoo looked at the photos filling his view and let out a sigh.
Even the reenlistment process wouldn’t be easy. Since he was the one who planned it all, he had no one to complain to.
‘Lee Jinwoo, you bastard....’
Jinwoo could only curse his past self.
*****
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