by Yoo Seong
“Ohhh! This is the Murat’s blessings?”
“God is blessing us. It means the gods are watching us!”
“Kusan warriors, don’t be afraid! We have God’s messenger who inherited the will of the Murat!”
“This blessing is evidence that this crusade is meant to be!
Apart from health and defense, their courage also soared! They weren’t scared because they were with the gods!
Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa kwa!
The moment the Kusan warriors collided with the Myutal. There was a ringing sound and the bodies of the Myutal flew in all directions. The power of the Kusan warriors was more than Ark expected. He only saw it for a brief moment but the warriors possessed similar strength to Ellain. Indeed, they were the warriors that survived countless battles with the Myutal. In other words, they were the strongest warriors! On the other hand, the Myutal was only a level 50 monster. They were no match against the Kusan warriors in combat.
“Hot Air Sword!”
“Desert Wolf’s Fang!”
“Welcome to the alter ego! Warrior’s Blade!”
The Kusan warriors overwhelmingly pushed the Myutal back. And the Myutal’s health dropped to the bottom once there was an engagement.
“Khafra Fencing 3rd style! Galaxy Sword!”
Dozens of swords swept through the battlefield like a storm! Tens of dozens of Myutal had already died. Then a black air current swelled around the Myutal. Red eyes flashed from inside the tornado.
“The Umu!”
The Umus were the ones controlling the Myutal! They were the cause of the Kusan’s despair as they were impervious to swords. The Umu had no doubt in their abilities and steadily rushed towards the Kusan warriors. However the Kusan warriors were different now.
“Show them the results of our training with God’s messenger!”
“Concentrate all our attacks on the Umu!”
“Sonic Sword!”
They used the Sonic Sword that Ark had taught them! Dozens of swords caused shockwaves that tore through the bodies of the Umu. The bodies that previously couldn’t be wounded were torn apart. The Umu screamed from the unimaginable blow and retreated. Then an attack shot towards the Umu again.
“Sonic Sword!”
It was from the master who taught the Kusan warriors. Ark’s Sonic Sword had reached the advanced stage. Naturally his attack was on a different dimension from the Kusan warriors. The Umu’s body that had already become ragged was cut in half.
-Roaaaaar!
The Umu gave a scream of pain and disappeared.
“The Umu was defeated!”
“Now there is nothing that can stop us!”
“Advance! Break through the Myutal and reclaim the temple!”
The Kusan warriors shouted as their morale increased and they moved forward. And…..their crusade started.
————————————————————————————–
‘This can’t continue.’
Ark realized that he needed to change his tactics. The Kusan warriors were being overwhelmed by the Myutal and Umu. They had learnt a technique that could handle their enemies after decades of fighting. Therefore they rapidly advanced in the beginning. They literally crushed the Myutal as they moved forward. But they soon hit their limits.
Kikikiki! Kikikiki! Kikikiki!
They killed Myutal again and again without any breaks. They expended a lot of strength rushing through the Myutal. All they had to do was charge but the numbers couldn’t be ignored when there were hundreds of Myutal. Therefore the Kusan warriors’ health went down to 40~50%. The problem was that there was no healer to help them recover their health.
‘Without a healer the only way to recover health is to rest.’
But Ark had no time for that.
-Time remaining: 7 hours 42 minutes.
He had set a timer before he entered the red earth. It was the amount of time he had to enter the pyramid, find the Divine Artefact and join the 2nd investigation team. However it had been 16 hours and they’ve only marched 50 kilometres. The Silver Star helped them the first 30 kilometres so they actually only fought for 20 kilometres. And the remaining distance to the pyramid was 30 kilometres. They hadn’t even handled half of the Myutal yet.
‘If it continues like this then I won’t be able to join the investigation team on time. The problem is that there isn’t a solution.’
The red land was the Myutal’s area. They needed to handle the hundreds of Myutal hiding in this area. If they took a rest then there would be surprise attacks from the Myutal. 10 warriors had already died because of these surprised attacks. The combat power of the warriors decreased so the marching speed also slowed.
‘We’re advancing through the centre. Their numbers will increase even further as we approach the pyramid. In this situation, we might be wiped out before we even reach the pyramid.’
There was only one way left. It was to reduce the time required to recover their health. In other words, he needed to reduce the damage taken by the Kusan warriors. The answer he came up with was surprisingly simple. Monsters were afraid of enemies with RPG weapons. They would be the first ones attacked even if someone else attacked the monster first. And this aggro number also applied to buffs and heals. It was natural. If a person was healed then couldn’t that person kill the monster? Therefore a buff or heal would raise the aggro value to 3~4 times that of an attack. The problem was that this was dangerous for the healer. That’s why tanker classes learned skills like ‘Taunt’ that raised their aggro value. Anyway……
This was the method Ark came up with.
“Come out, Shire! Rune Carving Kuon!”
It was the buff skill that he learnt with the Kuon rune! In the past he had used the buff when the battle was about to start. It was a skill that lasted 30 minutes so he only needed to use it 2~3 times in a fight. Most fights ended within 30 minutes so there was no need for the effect to stack. However…..
“Come out, Shire! Rune Carving Kuon! Kuon! Kuon!”
Ark invoked the Kuon rune many times during a battle. One use consumed 150 mana and it also raised his aggro figure! When the Kusan warriors attacked 2~3 times, the opponent’s hostility instantly went to them. But the opponents changed targets to Ark once he used Kuon a few times. It reduced the burden on the Kusan warriors. Of course, Ark was at risk of being attacked so he got on the air board.
‘I’m faster than the Myutal on the air board. I can outrun these guys!’
Bbok bbok bbok bbok! Bbok bbok bbok bbok!
-
Any damage he received was solved by the Charenjok’s token. Ark flew around on the air board’s maximum speed while attacking the Myutal with his lightsaber.
“Khafra Fencing 3rd style! Galaxy Sword!”
Sometimes he would use Galaxy Sword and the Myutal in front of him were blown away. Flesh scattered as the flying swords cut through the Myutal!
“Now it is bleeding!”
Kwa kwa kwa kwang, kwa kwa kwa kwang!
A column of flame gushed out from the area that the air board passed. Ark dropped grenades that caused an explosion. He also continued pouring out the buffs. The Kusan took care of the Myutal while they were chasing Ark. This tactic reduced the amount of damage the Kusan warriors took. And this damage reduction increased their travelling speed. However it was still tight considering the remaining time left. No, he couldn’t afford to slow down the pace!
“Come on, let’s go! Hurry up!”
He spurred an even faster advancement!
-Time remaining: 5 hours 30 minutes.
“The Umu!”
“We have to deal with them! Attack!”
“Sonic Sword! Sonic Sword!”
Pepeng! Pepeng! Pepeng!
The Umu disappeared as they were torn apart!
-Time remaining: 4 hours 21 minutes.
“Those guys are flocking again!”
“Come out, Shire! Rune Carv
ing Kuon! Kuon! Kuon!”
“These guys are gathering around the God’s messenger!”
“Hurry up! Protect God’s messenger!”
“Oh, no! Everyone back off! Start the bombardment!”
Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!
The Myutal were engulfed in flames as the air board kept on moving!
-Your level has risen!
His level was also increasing.
“Cough! I can’t move any longer. Leave me and just continue.”
“You fool! You are a warrior of the Kusan clan. This battle concerns the future of the Kusan. If you can move even one finger then you have to fight until the end. Don’t say weak words like that.”
“Ugh, understood! I’ll be a shield for my colleagues even if I need to die!”
“That is a Kusan warrior!”
Sometimes a touching drama like this would occur while advancing.
-Time remaining: 1 hour 38 minutes.
“There it is!”
“Here is our God, the Murat’s temple!”
Ark’s group had finally reached the front of the pyramid. Ellain and the Kusan warriors stared at the pyramid with thrilled eyes. The road to reach here was indeed challenging. Ark had heard the endless screams of battle. And a forced march! Ark had dragged the warriors here through hundreds of Umu and Myutal but dozens of warriors had been sacrificed. They had set off with 50 people but only 20 of them arrived at the pyramid. More than half of the warriors had lost their lives. However the temple was a sacred place for the Kusan warriors. A considerable cost was paid but they had finally reached the front of the sacred place after losing against the Myutal for decades. The warriors who reached the destination shed tears of joy. But Ark didn’t cry. Unlike the warriors, Ark only cared about the pyramid because the Divine Artefact was hidden there. That wasn’t the only reason why Ark wasn’t thrilled.
‘…..There is something strange.’
Ark looked around with a frown. According to Barakin, the meteorite had fallen right next to the pyramid. In fact, next to the pyramid was a huge crate with a meteorite lodged in it. In other words, this was the sacred place of the Kusan and the Myutal. Naturally Ark had expected there to be the most Myutal here. His expectations had been right when coming here. The number of Myutal increased as they got closer to the pyramid. However the Myutal suddenly stopped talking when they were 1 kilometre away from the pyramid.
“Do you think it is over?”
“Certainly…..”
Ellain nodded his head. But it was inevitable for the Kusan to think like that.
“This is the Holy Land. Surely the Myutal wouldn’t be able to access it?”
The reason was due to their faith. They treated Ark as God’s messenger and the Kusan warriors couldn’t help being optimistic. They couldn’t believe they reached here and kept on looking at each other absent-mindedly.
“Yes, we’ll know once we enter. Ellain.”
“Yes, everybody get down!”
Ellain commanded as he got off the camel. He took out the crystal in front of the door and the crystal started vibrating while rising. It was at that moment.
Ku ku ku ku! Ku ku ku ku!
Kikikiki! Kikikiki! Kikikiki!
Myutal came from everywhere the moment the door started opening! Ark and the Kusan warriors flinched and turned their heads. A countless number of Myutal could be seen! In addition, a huge number of Umu appeared with the Myutal. No, it wasn’t only in the nearby area. They Myutal started crawling out of the red substance that covered the pyramid. It was to the extent that the pyramid turned black from the Myutal that covered it.
“W-why are there so many Myutal……”
Then the Myutal covering the pyramid started moving in unison. The Myutal headed towards Ark’s group who got into a battle position.
“Dammit! Hold your formation!”
Ark, Ellain and the Kusan warriors pulled out their swords. Ark was puzzle by what happened next. Apart from the Myutal attacking Ark’s group, the others were just flocking towards the pyramid?
‘Are they waiting until the door to the pyramid is opened?’
It was hard to believe but that was the only possible answer. It was the only reason to ignore the enemy in front of the pyramid. No, it was too late to consider such issues. Their only hope was the weapon inside the pyramid. However they would become the Myutal’s prey if they occupied the interior of the pyramid.
“Ellain, pyramid!”
Ark rode the air board and rushed to the door. Then 10 Myutal rolled in front of the door. But he had no time to deal with these guys. Ark just increased his weight to the front and the air board sped up even more. And just as he reached those guys.
“Mind Shield!”
-The Mind Shield has been activated.
“Shield Emission!”
He fired another skill before the information window even popped up! It was the combo attack of Mind Shield and Shield Emission! The blue shield covering Ark’s body exploded and fired dozens of fragments everywhere. His lightsaber danced at the same time.
Wiing! Wiiing! Seokeok! Seokeok!
The Myutal in the trajectory of the lightsaber was cut! The Myutal that was already tattered from Shield Emission became like sliced meat.
“Come out, Shire! Rune Carving, Ikram!”
Ark’s hand drew a brilliant pattern in the air. Then the dog with the head of a Myutal appeared. Ark shouted at Ellain after the hell hound attacked the Myutal.
“Everyone! Don’t bother with the guys on the outside! Stay here and defend! The entrance isn’t wide so you can defend against those bastards!”
“Understood!”
The warriors flocked towards the entrance. Needless to say, there were quite a few warriors injured by the Myutal’s surprise attack. However the warriors were even more determined than before.
“This place is the Kusan’s temple!”
“I won’t let even one Myutal dirty this place!”
The warriors shouted while blocking the entrance with their bodies. Then Ellain threw the crystal to Ark and said.
“Messenger-nim, we will block this place! Messenger-nim should activate the temple! The Kusan clan’s future will depend on you!”
They wanted to defend this place alone! There was no time to argue. Thousands of Myutal were flocking towards the pyramid! Fortunately, the pyramid entrance acted as a barrier so only a few could attack at a time. Now the only way to get out of the situation was to activate the pyramid’s defense weapon. And Ark was the fastest on his air board.
“Psychokinesis!”
Ark pulled the crystal towards him Then he accelerated the air board as soon as he grabbed the crystal. He flew forward and saw two passages each dozens of metres long. One led upwards and the other downwards. Perhaps one passage led to the terraforming device while the other one led to the defense weapon.
‘Dammit, they might be dying……’
Ark’s brain started thinking at a frantic pace. Barakin said that the pyramid pulled up water from deep underground to create an oasis. Therefore the terraforming device should be located at the bottom of the pyramid!
“The defense weapon is at the top!”
Ark flew down the top passageway. And after flying for a while.
“W-what is this?”
Ark burst out with confusion. The end of the passage was just a dead end with a wall! He couldn’t see any machines and there was only an Egyptian wall painting. Ark thought he had made a mistake and was about to turn around. Then his eyes caught sight of a hold in the chest of the goddess drawn on the wall.
“Perhaps this is the goddess Isis from the Kuon rune?”
Ark recalled the contents of the information window about the Kuon rune. Isis was the goddess of life. She was the origin of humans and all species in the galaxy…..
“Heart! This crystal must be Isis’ heart!”
Ark flew to the wall and inserted the crystal in Isis. Then the wall split to the sides. A room appeared with a giant pillar in the middle spouting blue light. A geometric pattern appeared and disappeared on the surface of the pillar. But strangely the pillar was covered in a transparent, crystal like object. The moment Ark touched the crystal surrounding the pillar. All of a sudden a humming voice was heard.
-Who are you?
“What? This voice is?”
-Yes, if you are qualified then speak the name of the person who guided you here.
“Guided me here…..Xanax?”
–The seal has been released!
The voice boomed out and something amazing happened. The crystal melted off the pillar and formed a giant golem. Was this the defense weapon left behind by the Murat? The crystal golem looked at Ark and said.
“I will test you in accordance with the pledge!”
A gun was abruptly pointed at him!
Space 9
Power of God!
‘Pledge? Test?’
It came out of nowhere. Other users would’ve probably rushed back and forth in confusion. But Ark was unaffected. It was abrupt but Ark sensed something the moment he heard the voice. Ark had forgotten for a while but he came to Rakunka to find the Divine Artefact that Xanax hid. And now something that responded to the name Xanax appeared. The conclusion that came from this combination of clues was simple.
‘Is this the 2nd test for Xanax’ successor?’
The atmosphere became like he expected. Perhaps he could get the Divine Artefact after defeating the crystal golem. It was good. It reduced the trouble of him having to search for it. Yet! Yet! Yet!
“Dammit! Now isn’t the time to do this!”
Ark snapped in an angry voice. Right now the Myutal were flocking towards the pyramid. Ellain and the Kusan warriors were currently stopping them but Ark didn’t know how long they could hold out. If they collapsed then the Myutal would enter the pyramid. They would also smash the terraforming machine and defense weapon. Yet now he had to pass a test? But there was no time for questions or answers.
