NOVEL NEXT [Translator – Pr?ks]
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Chapter 197: Abyss Lord
“Hyung, do you know her… I mean, this monster?”
“Yes. Her name is Leluya, she’s a witch.”
“…But how did she cross the Gate? I haven’t heard of any Gate breaches…”
“It seems she has her own means.”
Park Siwoo nodded at his words and stepped back.
He didn’t release his holy sword, though.
‘Who knows what might happen…’
Seo Yerim and Han Siah felt the same way.
Their curiosity was piqued.
Normally, monsters couldn’t enter the real world unless a Gate was breached. That was the law. But this witch was different.
She had suddenly appeared in reality!
They had suspected she might not be human, but a being with three heads couldn’t be called human.
They didn’t know much else.
But one thing was certain.
‘She’s strong.’
Seo Yerim frowned.
An archer’s eyes were sharper than those of other classes. The natural magic emanating from the witch Leluya was immense.
She was probably a powerful mage.
“Did you meet her in a hidden Gate?”
“Yes. Here’s what happened…”
He explained to the group about the Orc Gate incident.
The Dragon Legion and the Witch Coven.
The battle against the Elder Dragon and the full-fledged witch.
[TL/N: Ancient Dragons would be older than 10k years and Elder Dragons would be between 1k to 10k years old, therefore the dragon which came to help the Ice Dragon was a Elder Dragon :)]
And finally, the encounter with the Grand Witch Ananke. Everyone listened to the story with surprised expressions.
They knew that Kim Minwoo was active in Hidden Gates. But they didn’t know that the level of the hidden Gates was that high.
‘Even the apprentice witch and the ice dragon were S+ difficulty?’
‘If beings beyond that appeared…’
‘SS-rank or higher?’
They had heard that the power of the full-fledged witch and the Elder Dragon was immense. Curiosity bloomed on Han Siah’s face.
“Can hidden Gates have such high difficulty?”
“Ah, it’s because of this.”
The Dice of Fate. The main culprit behind the change in Gate difficulty.
“Ah, this is the one you bought at the Sky Auction…”
“One of the two, yes.”
“The options are amazing…”
Rumors about the Dice of Fate had spread to some extent. It was no wonder, considering it was an item purchased for 60 trillion won. Even Han Siah had heard of the item’s name, even if she didn’t know the detailed options.
“So, does the next roll guarantee a lucky outcome?”
“The luck modifier will increase, but it doesn’t guarantee luck…”
One of the effects of the Dice of Fate.
If you experienced adversity, the luck modifier would increase in the next roll.
Since he had experienced the worst adversity, a roll of 1, the luck modifier for the next roll would be quite high. The dice roll cycle was six months. If he didn’t roll within that time, he would face terrible consequences.
‘I’ll roll it at a crucial moment.’
With the high probability of a luck modifier, he planned to roll it in a disadvantageous or special battle. If there were no such stages during the remaining period, he would just roll it anyway.
In any case.
The group, seeing the Dice of Fate, nodded in understanding.
If the worst possible bad luck had befallen them in a hidden Gate, it wouldn’t be surprising for all sorts of beings to emerge.
The three-headed witch was included in that category.
“So, hyung, you defeated all of that with your strength?”
“No. It would have been difficult without Indomitable.”
“Indomitable, you mean the one you got from Treasure Mountain?”
“Yeah. It strengthened the Legion Commanders. As you know, Siwoo, Merhen is a natural enemy of mages.”
“Aha.”
Park Siwoo, looking at Leluya, nodded in understanding.
She was already a natural enemy of mages.
If she had been further strengthened, she would have been able to defeat even this monstrous witch before them.
Suddenly, Park Siwoo felt a sense of injustice.
“Wait, I got a trait too! Why hasn’t mine activated even once?”
“What was your trait again? Perseverance?”
“Yes, Perseverance! They say good things come to those who wait, but I wonder if this will ever activate, really.”
“Yerim, has your trait, Diligence, ever activated?”
“It has been activated a few times. I get a message while training.”
Seo Yerim nodded, and Park Siwoo asked, feeling wronged,
“Noona! Really? But why didn’t you say anything to me?”
“Well, telling you would only make you feel bad. So I just kept quiet.”
“Sigh… Life. It’s always me…”
“I actually think your trait is better.”
“…But mine hasn’t activated even once.”
Seo Yerim nodded.
“The fact that it hasn’t activated yet means it could activate in a big way, right?”
“I, is that so?”
“Or maybe not.”
At that moment, Leluya took a step closer.
―Chatter slowly.
―Ending would be good.
―I have a duty to perform. Guide.”
Kim Minwoo looked at Leluya.
“Merhen said you were definitely dead. How were you resurrected?”
―Ananke-nim gave me a chance.
―Resurrected through memories.
―Therefore, incomplete.
“…Resurrected through memories?”
It seemed that Grand Witches were capable of all sorts of things.
‘Whatever, it’s not important.’
The truly important thing was the Abyss Lord’s dwelling. He could obtain the materials to create the Divine Dragon Gleipnir there.
It was a summon that would greatly enhance the power of Cedric, the unlucky knight who couldn’t utilize dragons despite being a Dragon Knight.
‘A kind of Bone Dragon.’
He had already seen Gleipnir’s majesty. It was during the first arrangement when he met Mukhtak.
At that time, Cedric was riding a dragon.
‘It was magnificent.’
[Translator – Pr?ks]
[Proofreader – Pr?ks]
He recalled the materials for Gleipnir. Out of the six materials, he had only two left to obtain.
The corpse of an ancient dragon over ten thousand years old.
And the bloodline of the Abyss Lord.
He had obtained the rest with Ananke’s help a long time ago.
‘I’ll probably need to cooperate with the Witch Coven for the ancient dragon corpse…’
He remembered fighting a three-thousand-year-old Elder Dragon in the Orc Gate. Considering that, he couldn’t defeat a ten-thousand-year-old dragon alone.
Even with the Indomitable buff, it would be the same.
But it was okay.
He had already joined forces with the Witch Coven. He could get their help when dealing with the Dragon Legion.
At that moment, Park Siwoo grabbed his hand.
“Hyung!”
“Yes?”
“Are you going alone again this time?”
“I was planning to…”
“Can’t we go together? The Abyss Lord seems like he’ll be formidable.”
Park Siwoo’s eyes sparkled.
It was a competitive spirit, as well as anticipation for the hunt.
“Wait a minute. Leluya, can only I move to that dwelling?”
―No. If you wish.
―I can transport all four of you here.
―Do you want that?
“Is the Abyss Lord strong?”
―Ananke-nim didn’t have the ingredients.
―Rather than being strong, it’s rare and difficult to catch.
―It hides away except for specific cycles. And those cycles are quite long. About 100 years.
Aha.
So it appears only once every 100 years, which is why the ingredients are missing?
‘A party.’
It just so happened that Han Siah had changed her class to Priest. Obtaining the Divine Relic was a bonus.
It might be a good idea to test her abilities through a party.
‘And she’s not a burden either.’
Honestly, with the level of the guild members gathered here, they would definitely be helpful.
Han Siah had the lowest level, but as a Priest, that weakness was somewhat offset.
“Are you all interested in going together?”
“Sounds good.”
“Me too.”
“Yerim, what about Heavenly City?”
“I can go there anytime. I should help the Guild Master when I can.”
Seo Yerim and Han Siah agreed.
He looked at Leluya.
“When can we go?”
―Two days later.
―I will open the portal.
―Be prepared.
Everyone nodded.
* * *
“But… why are you following us?”
―No place.
―To stay.
―Also, want to see Iris.
Leluya, trailing behind them, replied nonchalantly. Even though they were walking down the main street, people didn’t react to her.
Leluya was using magic to conceal herself, a magic that only revealed her to them.
“Did you care for Iris?”
―Not really.
―Only met her then.
―But I know Ananke-nim is watching over her.
“She abandoned her back then? But watching over her?”
Ananke took Leluya’s memories but didn’t take care of Iris.
It was a kind of cutting ties.
Ananke had even said that Iris was no longer a witch.
―I don’t know the details. But…
―She didn’t do it on purpose.
―Fate guided it that way.
Her cryptic talk remained the same.
Anyway, there was no need to stop her if she wanted to see Iris. Iris, who had become Merhen’s subordinate, was living underground with Choi Yuna.
―Eek! Ll, Leluya-nim?
“Iris, do you know each other? ―…Yuna, this is my former boss. We weren’t close…
Iris, answering Choi Yuna’s question, glanced at Leluya.
―By the way, you were looking for me?
―You’re doing well.
―Ananke-nim asked me to deliver a message.
Leluya then approached Iris’s ear and whispered something.
Iris’s face changed colors.
She was surprised, blushed, and her ears drooped.
After a rather long whisper, Leluya approached them.
―I’ve finished delivering the message to Iris.
―So, where’s the bedroom?
―I want to rest for two days. I hope the bed is soft.
A witch with a strong personality.
He guided the three-headed woman to a suitable room. There were plenty of spare rooms in the house.
He told his family to avoid entering that room.
Since Leluya could conceal herself, there wouldn’t be any chance of her being discovered for two days.
“Then rest well.”
―Before that.
―One more thing.
―Did you go to Heavenly City?
“…Did Ananke tell you?”
Leluya nodded.
―You do remember.
―Your body is connected to the Grand Witch.
―You used Heavenly Projection.
He nodded.
When he met Ananke, he received the materials for Gleipnir.
And in return, he had a spell inscribed on his body.
It was a spell related to observation.
He had heard that Ananke could also send messages through it, but she hadn’t sent any so far.
As he looked at her questioningly, Leluya continued,
―Ananke-nim has been very busy lately.
―The dragons are on the move.
―We’ll have to cooperate soon. Anyway, the main point is simple. If it’s about Heavenly City, Ananke-nim can offer some help.
“What kind of help?”
―Medea. One of the Seven Lords.
―A witch. Sent by us to the city.
―And a traitor who turned her back on the Eastern Witch Coven.
One of the Seven Lords is a witch?
It was unexpected information.
‘I’ve heard the name before.’
The Seven Lords were famous figures.
Naturally, he had heard their names while researching.
Medea was no exception.
He had heard she was a great mage.
But there was no information about her being a witch or a traitor.
Anyway…
“…If she’s a traitor, can she be of help?”
―Yes. She made a pact with Ananke-nim a long time ago. Unlimited help is impossible, but…
―She’ll take care of three things for you, if you can win her favor.
―So find her. Use Ananke-nim’s name and bind her. So that she can be of help to you.
[Translator – Pr?ks]
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