Chapter 25: A place you cant die
Ivan grabbed the spear and swung it. The branches of the trees that had been attacking him burst out.
Pak!
Without having to move even a single step, he simply moved the spear to clear the attack and then glanced at the elves. A tree branch pierced in there like a spear, but it was blocked by a transparent barrier and there was no damage.
‘Well, elves won’t get hurt just by this.”
Whii-ng!
The spirit of the wind raged wildly. A sharp wind cut through the thick trees and made them into piles of firewood.
Chichik, Chijik!
Lightning flashed out from Ivan’s body, hitting nearby trees. After splitting it in half like that, it became quiet again.
It was quite tough and sturdy, but at least it was wood.
They were crazy trees trying to eat people, but it wasn’t to the point of panicking.
“It’s not a big deal because the guys who passed by have cleaned it up once and moved on.”
Saying so, Ivan rummaged through the piles of wood on the ground. If it smells good, smoked with this, the dish would be quite delicious. The trees killed humans and use them as their own food, so if you cook with this, you’ll lose your appetite.
“The trees here are not normal.”
The elves looked around and frowned. Showing an unpleasant expression unlike the usual. For the elves of the forest, this was such a painful place.
“It is a place that is twisted because it is too full of vitality. If even ordinary grass grew here, it would be enough to become a monster.”
“Ivan Esirsson, you seem familiar with this place. We are asking for information.”
“I don’t know at all. Because my purpose is the relic lying here in the first place.”
Ivan, who spun his spear round and wrapped around his shoulder, began to speak.
“Once upon a time, perhaps a hundred years ago, a mad wizard stole a treasure from the tower and fled. To prolong his dying life and further explore the mystery of life.”
It was here that the wizard, who had been running around to avoid the pursuit of the tower, finally settled down and took refuge.
Twisted Nest of Life. A terrible dungeon created by a mad wizard and a stolen relic.
“What the hell is that treasure the demon worshipers are after?”
“It’s called a life orb. It has enormous vitality, so just having it increases your stamina and heals incurable diseases or heals wounds.”
In fact, it wasn’t a very popular item in the game. The character will never get an incurable disease, and even if his stamina is low, he will recover quickly by drinking a stamina potion.
The effects listed in the settings had no meaning and were just a material item that was occasionally used when making healer-only equipment.
However, now that the game has become a reality, it was like honey to Ivan, who did not have proper recovery skills. If you can take it, you can feel a little relieved even if you get hurt.
“Life and death have two sides, so if you corrupt them and sacrifice them, you can get a very powerful power. Perhaps the warlocks are trying to use it that way.”
Having said that, Ivan stared at Elena Evenwood. It meant that he has an interest in the Orb of Life.
Whether she knew it or not, Elena nodded her head expressionlessly.
“Then we can’t let them get their hands on it. We need to speed up our pursuit.”
Ivan looked into her pupils, but he had no idea what he was thinking.
Are they really not thinking of betrayal, or have they already had plans to wreak havoc through the World Tree Network?
“…Right. We’ll have to move quickly.”
Feeling a strange tension, Ivan moved his steps.
It was in the dungeon, but it wasn’t as dangerous as he thought. This is because the monsters to be dealt with were insignificant as the warlocks who entered earlier had already swept past them.
The vines plant that would have suddenly popped out and strangled the party had already broken strands and were wriggling on the ground and the grass, which could be spitting out acidic sap, was ashes.
In addition, a group of poisonous plants that would have come to life and showed a terrible illusion were completely devastated, leaving only traces. It was enough for the party to just move along such traces.
This place was no longer in the game. Naturally, there was no such thing as regenerating dead monsters.
Shh!
Parruk!
Occasionally, the surviving monsters attacked him, but an arrow that was fired faster than the surviving monster pierced through him.
When an arrow made a hole as big as a cannon, Ivan swallowed a lot of dry saliva. The elves were formidable talents beyond just the spirit they have.
Will he be able to win if they betray him and fight them? Maybe he needed to adjust the win rate?
Ivan thought for a moment, then nodded his head.
He would take damage, but it was unlikely that he would lose.
“I feel the evil energy getting stronger and stronger.”
“I can hear them fighting in front of me.”
“I almost caught up with them.”
Ivan Ivan narrowed his eyes, ignoring the elves who took turns spitting out a word at a time. When he concentrated his magic power on his eyes and raised his eyesight, he saw something fiercely fighting from afar.
“They didn’t go as far as I thought. Does that mean that this dungeon was difficult?”
Tadadak!
Ivan and the elves quickly started running towards them. In the meantime, I noticed monsters lying on the side of the road, but they were all weird.
A bear the size of a bear with crocodile teeth, a wolf head and a monkey body, two heads, six arms.
“This is a chimera.”
“The warlocks didn’t make them. They were originally here.”
A test subject of a mad wizard who had previously hid here and was doing research to extend his life. that trace.
It was very unpleasant to see the chimera in which body parts were randomly combined. It was literally like playing with life like a toy and throwing it away.
In any case, the warlocks were still caught in front of the boss without being able to defeat the boss, probably because of their strength.
“Damn! They are here already!”
The faces of the Warlocks who were in the midst of fighting the Chimeras were distorted.
They moved quickly, but because of these damn chimeras, the elves eventually caught up with them.
They looked at the elves with a stiff expression, then glanced at Ivan and asked.
“human? Why are humans moving with the elves?”
Considering the racial tendency of the extremely closed elves, it was difficult to understand. Of course, Ivan and the elves weren’t exactly on the same side as the warlocks thought.
Ivan threw the spear instead of answering.
If you have any questions, just ask the demon who’s going to drag your soul out the next time you do it.
Crackle!
bang!
A spear full of lightning arrived in front of him in an instant. Just as it was about to pierce the heart of one of the warlocks, a dark-red knight who suddenly jumped out swung his sword and blocked the spear.
Chaeng!
Skinny face without vitality, blue eyes. It was magic that moved the hardened body, and what was flowing instead of blood was the reagent of evil magic.
Death Knight. The knight of death who has lost all the pride that once shone brightly.
“…Certainly different from the guys out there.”
They were dealing with a proper undead spirit, rather than a shabby skeleton.
There were only three warlocks, but considering the spirit they dealt with, there was never a shortage of numbers. Even now, they were running dozens of spirits, and if necessary, they would bring out more than that number.
ugh-.
Ivan reached out his hand and a spear that had been rolling on the ground flew and was caught. Laughing at the evil hand trying to grab him from the ground, he slammed his feet hard.
thud!
As the magical kick hit the ground, the creepy curse broke like glass.
The magic that was pouring out targeting Ivan was blocked by the elves with the power of the spirits. (TN: for the elves, it’s more like elemental spirit, and for the warlock, like a ghost or evil spirit. Well, I think so, at least.)
Whiiish!
bang!
Ivan took a step forward and pierced his spear. Two death knights appeared and blocked them, and his wrists became sore. This is because the guys did not hesitate to break their arms and swung their swords with all their might.
The death knights tried to take a moment to wrap up, but low-level zombies flew to buy time.
Before the zombie was completely crushed, Ivan saw the face. It was one of the slaves that the Black Wizard brought. The weak slaves seems to have been abandoned at the entrance of the dungeon, and the useful ones are made into zombies.
Ivan’s gaze turned to the warlocks again.
“Dirty necrophilia perverts.”
A growl came from his mouth. As his anger simmered, even the storm that had enveloped him intensified.
One step, two steps.
Light and fast, at the same time heavy and intense.
[Thunder step!]
Whoops, bang!
Ivan took off with a noise like thunder. The storm wrapped around him and the thunder in his feet opened the way for him.
A death knight turned into a crushed can and bounced off. The metal armor was torn and half of his upper body disappeared somewhere.
Even the one whose half-body flew like that rose again, wriggling as the magic of the black magicians swept through. This is why the undead performed by a proper warlock is scary.
constant wear of consumption.
It was a composition Ivan never liked.
Dorororong!
At that time, a refreshing scent spread around with a dazzling sound from somewhere. Ivan’s body, which had been slightly heavy due to the continued battle, became lighter and the movement of the undead slowed down.
The broken ones no longer recovered and fell to the ground and turned into sand. The evil energy passed away and he returned to a mere corpse.
-Ahhh!
The spirits summoned by the elves were singing while walking around. The clear energy contained in that song suppressed the evil power.
Psyuk!
As Ivan, who had ruptured the head of the chimera who had been wandering around, approached the warlocks, they backed away with a stiff expression on their faces.
The speed at which the spirits were destroyed was fast. All the Chimeras blocking the way were dealt with, but in the meantime, Ivan and the elves took a lot of damage.
While Ivan ran rampant, the elves who moved secretly had already destroyed three Death Knights, and a number of evil spirits were purified. And now they were even aiming for the warlocks.
Psyuk!
When the elf’s arrow, which broke through the barrier, was stuck in his arm, the warlocks clenched their teeth. There was no chance of winning as it is. They needed something good.
They gathered all the remaining magical power in one place. Not that it’s like this, shouldn’t they borrow the power of the demon they serve?
The demon is never merciful, but he fulfilled his contract thoroughly. They will give you strength as much as they give their bodies and souls.
“Great death! How blessed is your servant!”
Woo-.
Little by little, cracks began to form in the space as the warlocks injected mana until they were exhausted.
A connection with a dimension completely different from the physical world was formed, and a wobbly passage slowly revealed itself.
Demon Gate.
It was the door leading to the land of evil demons.
Hwa-ah-ah.
The spirits who were singing happily were pushed aside. The evil energy emanating from the Demon Gate began to take shape little by little.
A certain demon under the command of the Great Evil Death Leader is about to appear on this earth at the request of the servants…
Push!
Then a spiky tree suddenly grew from the ground and pierced the bodies of the warlocks. When all those who supplied magical power died, the demon gate was closed, and the demon who was about to descend on this land was once again expelled beyond the dimensional barrier.
A sudden change of circumstances. Ivan looked somewhere with his eyes more tense than before.
What appeared anew was an existence with a very strange appearance. The skin was not like flesh, but like old bark, and thin branches and leaves sprouted through it.
His hair was also closer to the stem of a plant than that of a human. The wooden cane he was holding was connected as one vine to the extent that he did not know whether he was actually holding it or was attached to his hand.
A person who became a tree, or a tree in the form of a human.
Elena Evenwood made a rare disgusting expression as she watched the creature with a strange appearance.
“what is that? It’s an unstable creature that’s forced to connect with each other, neither human nor tree. Is this also a chimera created by that mad wizard?”
At that, Ivan shook his head.
“It is not.”
“Then it was such a terrible life from the beginning…”
“That’s not it, he’s the mad wizard.”
Wizards are originally crazy people, so if they went crazy twice, they would have returned to normal. However, the condition of the human mind seemed to be even more serious, it was not exactly like a mathematical formula.
‘Damn it, damn it. I’m not ready yet.’
Ivan raised the spear with a serious expression.
I felt sweat dripping down my back.
Usually, the boss, who doubles as the core of the dungeon, was tied to the mana that created the dungeon and could not move outside a certain area. But he didn’t expect the dungeon boss will open the door on his own and come out.
“It’s not that the dead guy was created with the magic of the dungeon, but he didn’t die in the first place because of the Life Orb. That’s why he wasn’t bound. Damn, I should have considered these variables…”
The red marble stuck in the guy’s chest caught my eye. That was the marble of life. The culprit that created this damn dungeon and the item that Ivan is aiming for.
As Ivan was thinking, the guy who was already half way out and heading towards the plant slowly opened his mouth.
-Eeeelfff, gooodd teeest suuubjeeect!
The wounds of the chimeras who had died with his cry quickly healed. And they woke up again with empty eyes.
The powerful vitality healed even the dead body and brought it back to life. Thus, the spirit and soul had already died and disappeared, and only an uncorrupted body remained, under the control of a mad wizard.
The method was completely different, but this was no different from the undead. A vicious act that insults life and insults death.
Who said death is a peaceful sleep? It was such a damn world that I couldn’t even die in peace.
‘Odin, do you want to treat me like that too?’
Ivan asked, looking up at the sky.
Of course, there was no answer.