Chapter 561 – Gather (1)

Abandoned village, area A.

At the deepest bottom of the poisonous lake, a pair of eyes quietly opened.

A monster awakens from a long sleep at the bottom of a quiet lake.

A huge body, overflowing magical power, and even deadly poison released from the body without stopping for a moment.

The monster that no one could help but call a ‘boss monster’ slowly rose from the floor.

The monster’s body buried in mud and heavy metal rose from the bottom of the lake, and the quiet lake was shaken by large waves.

‘Ugh…’

I can’t even guess how many years I’ve been asleep.

10 years or more.

I held my breath and waited for a long time to adapt to the new environment, which was so different from the one beyond the gate.

Until your body gets used to and adapts to the new environment.

‘Guooooo!’

12 years ago, a monster wave occurred in a dungeon now called an abandoned village.

It was the moment when the boss of the wave woke up from a long sleep.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After four people, including Si-hee and Cha Yu-ri, somehow managed to finish the statement.

After chatting for a while, we slowly ended today’s meeting and prepared to part ways.

“Let’s go back slowly. It looks like most of the other hunters have already left work, and the large-scale subjugation event is almost over.”

“… I see. “I moved my arm a little too hard today and her shoulder felt stiff.”

“Me too~! I think I’m a little tired~! “I was busy working with Taekyung all day today, so I didn’t even notice the time passing!”

“… What?”

“It’s physical work… ?”

“… “It’s about cleanup work.”

Why do you have to use such misleading expressions to confuse people?

For me, who swore to her heaven and had nothing to do with her, it was an incredibly unfair frame-up.

The only physical contact I had with Lulu Xia today was rolling around in a puddle together, accidentally falling over and covering her body up and down, or her hugging me tightly while wet. Just because.

… Now that I think about it, it might not have been so unfair.

Still, there is nothing to be ashamed of since these were all necessary actions in the purification process. These were actions that the saintly woman did in a situation where she had no idea that I was a man in the first place.

It was fate that we met like this, so it would have been nice to have a meal together on the way home from work, but unfortunately, the way home from work was different for those from the company and those from the foundation.

Sihee and Lulucia, who work for the foundation, had to return via the gate in Area A, which leads to the foundation, and since Cha Yu-ri and I belong to the company, we naturally had to return via the gate in Area B, which leads to the company.

It was a hassle in many ways to go out of the dungeon and make plans to meet again, so it was cleaner for both of us if we just broke up at this point.

Coincidentally, the area where this poisonous lake was located was also quite close to the gate of Area A.

I saw them off at the gate of nearby Area A, and Cha Yu-ri and I decided to go to Area B to get off work.

“It was a pleasure meeting you today, Lulucia. And Sihee too.”

“Yes~! See you next time, Taekyung~! And Yuri~!”

“… Huh.”

“It’s a shame we’re already parting ways, but please be careful, Seongcheol.”

“Yes, Sihee too.”

We were about to say our final goodbyes in front of the foundation boarding gate in Area A.

Although it was a short meeting, we still exchanged quite a bit of emotion and said goodbye before parting ways for the last time.

Just before they boarded the gate to the foundation, I quietly noticed that the surroundings had become a little strange.

‘Was the Poison Lake area originally this wide?’

I understand that the gate in Area A was built slightly away from the poisonous lake where the factory is located for safety reasons.

Looking at the place where the gate was currently installed, it was almost safe to say that it was next to a lake.

Even now, for some reason, it feels like the lake is getting closer…

“… Um, why is this like this?”

“What’s going on, Sihee~?”

“Suddenly the warp gate stopped working. It seems that the ID card is not recognized properly. If something breaks down…”

-Kugugung.

“Well, what is it? Suddenly something seemed to vibrate…”

While two people were lingering in front of the warp gate, a shallow earthquake was suddenly felt nearby.

For me, who was already feeling something strange, that slight vibration was enough to create tension.

As soon as I realized what was happening in front of me, my body rushed towards the two people standing in front of the gate.

What would happen if they left the defenseless girls on the warp gate platform was as obvious as it was obvious.

“Kwaaagh?!”

“Taekyung~?!”

He held Lulucia and Sihee, who were standing on the white warp gate scaffolding, on both sides and escaped the warp gate.

The two people who were suddenly in my arms showed a confused reaction, but I didn’t have time to explain them one by one and rescue them.

As soon as I escaped from the warp gate with the two people, the ground they were standing on collapsed into a pile of dirt.

The ground that supported the warp gate collapsed and was sucked into the poisonous lake, destroying it with the sound of something burning.

There was a blonde girl who let out a terrified scream as soon as she saw the warp gate she had been stepping on sinking into the lake.

“Hey… !!”

“… !!”

And Lulucia, who was clinging to her other arm, also began to grasp the situation with a silently surprised expression.

The crisis had already begun from the moment something unexpected occurred.

It wasn’t enough that it had engulfed the area where the warp gate was located, and the poisonous lake was still expanding its scope.

One thing was certain: we had to flee this area as quickly as possible.

“For now, let’s run away quickly! If you make a mistake, you will be swallowed up in that poisonous lake!”

“Yes, Seongcheol!”

“Ah Okay!”

“Holy heavenly protection, protect us…”

If I were to be sucked into that poisonous lake, I would probably die without even being able to recover my bones, so I had to get out of this place as quickly as possible to avoid dying a terrible death in a place like this for no reason.

It is still difficult to determine how wide the scope of this poisonous lake will expand.

Cha Yu-ri, Dosi-hee, and Lulucia, who suddenly seemed to be struck by something and began to recite an incomprehensible spell, quickly walked outside the contaminated area.

We planned to escape as much as possible from the rapidly expanding poisonous lake, but unfortunately, our escape plan did not work out so easily.

“Now, wait a minute! There is already a poisonous area ahead… !”

“This… !”

To make matters worse, not only were they coming from behind, but even the escape route was contaminated with poison, so we were left stranded on a small island.

Even the poisonous gas that began to form above the poisonous lake began to become so thick that it was difficult to withstand it with the special mask we had received in advance.

“Whoa, whoa…” !”

“Cough! Cough, Cough!”

“Kek, eh, air barrier!”

First of all, Cha Yu-ri is the first to understand the situation and manages to block even the toxic gases coming through the wind barrier.

However, the poisonous liquid of the lake still approaching at our feet was making us more and more isolated.

First, I also built a temporary defensive wall using ice magic around the floor.

-Chi Ik. Cheeeeek…

“… !”

The problem is that this ice magic barrier was really only a temporary shield.

As soon as it touches the temporary ice wall, it reacts with a loud noise and corrodes the defensive wall.

They were rebuilding the ice wall as much as possible in line with the rate of corrosion, but more magical power was needed to cope with the poisonous liquid that was gradually increasing in level.

Even if I used all the potions I had in my subspace pouch, it wasn’t enough to last me until the rescue team arrived.

-With a splash!

‘Keeeeek!’

“This… !”

To make matters worse, it wasn’t just the poisonous gases and poisonous liquid from the poisonous lake, the toxic monsters that had originally inhabited the poisonous lake were also approaching us.

The problem was that neither I nor Cha Yu-ri had the energy to fight as we were busy blocking the approaching poisonous gas and liquid.

In the current situation, the only person who can stop the approaching monster is…

-Kwasik!

‘Keeeeeh…’ !’

“I will take care of the monsters! “You two, please just focus on maintaining your defensive magic!”

-Nod.

Fortunately, Si-hee’s arrow was killing the monster without being disturbed by Cha Yu-ri’s wind barrier, and as long as she was there, it was unlikely that there would be any problems due to being attacked by the monster.

Of course, in the meantime, the biggest problem is still not solved.

The level of the poisonous lake that had hit us was rising, putting pressure on the four of us.

In the process of building an increasingly tall ice wall, my magical power consumption also became extreme.

-Chieeeeek…

“Ha, shit…”

The level of poison, which at first was only enough to make one crawl on the floor, has now soared to the point where it covers half of the calf.

I couldn’t help but feel in my heart that I wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.

“… Cough!”

“Keheuk, keke…” !”

The fog of toxic gas has become so thick that it is difficult to block even with Cha Yu-ri’s wind magic. More and more monsters are approaching in the darkness. And the water level rises rapidly as if the ground is disappearing…

‘Wait a minute, the ground is gone… ?’

… For some reason, it seemed like the lake level was rising too quickly, but it turned out that the ground we were walking on was already collapsing.

Right now, I couldn’t even figure out why the ground we were stepping on was suddenly collapsing, but one thing was certain.

One thing is that the situation where the ground is sinking like this is a mess for all of us.

In a moment of desperation that made me wonder if I should leave a will, the spell Lulucia was reciting suddenly stopped.

At the moment when her voice suddenly became silent and all our eyes were focused on her saint, Lulucia suddenly spread her arms and began to shout loudly.

“Everyone, stick by my side!!!”

“Ahh?!”

“Lu, Lucia?!”

With those words, Lulucia suddenly embraces the others with her own arms.

Cha Yu-ri, who was maintaining the barrier with wind magic, and Do So-hee, who was blocking monsters by shooting vision arrows, seemed taken aback by Lulucia’s sudden actions of embracing them.

It was at that moment that I had an intuition that there must be some reason for her actions as a saint, so without much hesitation, I pushed her body into Lulucia’s open arms.

“Celestial Sanctuary!!”

Lulucia’s sacred spell immediately followed as soon as she confirmed that I was in her arms.

The moment her last spell was shouted, Lulucia and us were surrounded by a golden sphere-shaped protective shield.

At the same time, the last handful of ground we were standing on collapsed, and we were sucked into the poisonous lake.