Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

Eidolon was markedly different from the capitals of other floors.

The most significant difference was the number of players. Since the main quest unfolded in Shella, located in the southern part of the empire, there were hardly any players active in Eidolon. The lack of decent hunting grounds in the vicinity only exacerbated this.

There were rare times when Eidolon bustled with activity. During the Dandelion Festival week, honoring the sun god Helium, people from all over the floor gathered in Eidolon.

Especially on the last day of the festival, the longest day of the year, the city was packed to bursting. This was because the Great Temple of Helium showcased grand miracles on that day.

“A festival! We’ve come at just the right time!”

“I’m not so sure.”

Han Cha-hyun and Lee Kang-to arrived in Eidolon on the first day of the festival.

Though the festival hadn’t properly begun, the streets were already crowded. As the excited Lee Kang-to tried to dash off, Han Cha-hyun grabbed his hood.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“It’s a mysterious magic stall! We have to check it out! Can’t you see? That shimmering wave of magical energy?”

“Shall I contact Guild Master Gyeon?”

As Han Cha-hyun pulled up Gyeon Ji-woon’s contact on his hunter watch, Lee Kang-to’s shoulders slumped. Muttering about unfairness, he obediently followed Han Cha-hyun.

‘Good thing I saved that contact.’

Impressed by Han Cha-hyun’s performance on the 76th floor, Gyeon Ji-woon had forcibly given him his contact information. Who knew it would come in handy like this?

Though Lee Kang-to didn’t seem like the type to listen to the guild master, he strangely became docile at the mere mention of Gyeon Ji-woon.

‘This is nothing compared to dealing with professors.’

If not for his graduate school experience, Han Cha-hyun might have avoided Lee Kang-to too.

Han Cha-hyun chuckled, recalling the expression Yun Gaho had worn when looking at him. That deeply sympathetic gaze from the bottom of her heart. It would have been amusing to see her paired with Lee Kang-to.

Yun Gaho, whom he’d been seeing more frequently lately, tended to wear her thoughts plainly on her face.

‘She seems to be trying to manage her expressions, but…’

At first, he had thought her upturned eyes and standoffish way of speaking indicated a cold personality, but there was a subtle softness to her.

“Lee Kang-to-ssi. Come here.”

How long had he been lost in thought? In that short time, Lee Kang-to was already trying to run off again.

Clicking his tongue, Han Cha-hyun placed a rope from his inventory in Lee Kang-to’s hand. He held the other end himself.

“Don’t let go as we walk.”

“Come on, this isn’t a dog walk…”

“If you were a bit smaller, I would have carried you.”

“T-That’s too much!”

Han Cha-hyun lightly ignored Lee Kang-to’s sulky protests.

They had wasted time getting caught by touts. Though it might be more efficient to move separately to save time, he felt uneasy about that. Han Cha-hyun eyed Lee Kang-to appraisingly.

“Look, there’s a big crowd over there!”

Han Cha-hyun turned his head at Lee Kang-to’s shout.

People were gathered around an old tree in the center of the square. A man wearing a ridiculous pointed hat was throwing flower petals and calling out to passersby.

“The tale of the sun god Helium is about to begin! Gentlemen over there! Come listen to the story!”

“The sun god?”

As Han Cha-hyun, who was usually interested in myths, stopped in his tracks, Lee Kang-to seized the opportunity and clung to him enthusiastically.

Invoking even a hunter’s intuition, Lee Kang-to was so persistent that Han Cha-hyun had no choice but to squeeze in among the spectators.

“Long, long ago. When the sky and earth were still joined as one body, they separated. The sky wept every day, grieving the separation from its beloved. From the place where its tears pooled, the sea god Media was born.”

The storyteller shook a doll with dark blue thread for hair.

“The greedy Media swelled her body every day. Just before the entire land was covered in water, the sky, realizing Media’s misdeeds, plucked out its own eye to create the sun.”

“It’s Helium!”

The children shouted before the storyteller could even pull out the doll. Laughing with an eerie sound, the storyteller then produced a doll adorned with long, golden threads.

“Born from the sky’s eye, the sun god Helium shot his bow to drive away Media. Wherever his arrows passed, the sea disappeared, and all kinds of life sprouted from the arrows stuck in the ground.”

A sun god who shoots arrows. As Han Cha-hyun recalled myths with similar elements, his eyes narrowed at the next part of the story.

“Helium and Media made a bet to decide who would rule this world.”

The wager was about who could first bloom a flower from the seeds given by the sky and earth.

Helium wished for a single small dandelion. The greedy Media wanted a large and beautiful flower never before seen under the sky. The seeds sided with the humble and kind Helium.

The important part came next.

Following the gods, humans also split into two factions and made their own wagers. The humans who supported Media refused to accept the outcome even after the bet was over.

In the end, Helium once again took up his bow and banished them from the land.

‘This seems to be…’

The storyteller vividly narrated the part where the foolish humans who followed Media were driven into the sea, shaking the Media doll.

Lee Kang-to poked Han Cha-hyun’s back with his tail.

“Hunter Han Cha-hyun, could this be…”

“Yes, it seems to be that story.”

The tale of the humans driven into the sea didn’t continue after that. As only Helium’s story persisted, Han Cha-hyun and Lee Kang-to stood up.

“We’ll need a more in-depth investigation, but it seems highly likely that the followers of Media mentioned in that myth are the merpeople.”

“A hunter’s intuition is always right!”

Lee Kang-to spun around once, showing off.

‘No matter how I look at it, it seems like he just wanted to hear the story and got lucky with his excuse.’

Hiding his true thoughts, Han Cha-hyun praised Lee Kang-to half-heartedly.

The two agreed to split up and gather information about Media. Han Cha-hyun would make full use of his skills to search through old bookstores and antique shops, while Lee Kang-to would collect rumors from the streets.

However, despite pounding the pavement until sunset, neither of them obtained any useful information.

“This is lamentable. There’s nothing except myths that mention Helium alongside Media.”

“The NPCs don’t seem to know anything either. They just vaguely know Media as an evil god.”

“That makes it even more suspicious.”

Information hidden to such an extreme degree. Wasn’t that where the suspicion about the merpeople began as well?

“What good is knowing it’s suspicious? We don’t have any information at all.”

Just as Han Cha-hyun was about to retort, his hunter watch vibrated. It was a reply from Yun Gaho.

[- Sender: Yun Gaho

The version from Shella is completely different from the story you told me.

According to the sea people’s testimony,

…….

P.S. How about looking into Helium?]

Reading the postscript, Han Cha-hyun pushed up his glasses with interest.

“Let’s change our direction a bit. Instead of Media, let’s investigate Helium.”

“Huh? Is that really necessary?”

“As it happens, I saw something perfect for this.”

Han Cha-hyun shared a photo he had taken with his hunter watch. Lee Kang-to jumped up when he saw the screen.

“You want to do this?”

◆◇◆◇◆

“It’d be faster to find a needle in a haystack!”

Long gone was the triumphant attitude from the previous night.

Exhausted, I slumped to the ground. Getting information from Shella’s tight-lipped NPCs was harder than I thought.

[Subquest, We Are Still Here (A)

– Remaining time: 59:52:14]

Time flowed mercilessly, oblivious to my burning anxiety.

“Already so much time…”

With no substantial clues, we had set out into the streets aimlessly.

Cha Taeyang and I ran around various parts of the city, looking for places where sea people might be hidden. Choi Kwon-young moved separately, tracing the remnants of the spire where Atera had stayed.

“This won’t do.”

We had been searching Shella since early morning, but hours had passed with no results.

They must have been hidden meticulously enough that players hadn’t noticed until now. We couldn’t find them with this haphazard investigation.

Think, Yun Gaho. How can we find the delegation?

‘If only we could send a message only the sea people could hear…’

“Sound transmission!”

The sound transmission sea people use underwater. Could we utilize that?

As if grasping at a lifeline from heaven, I ran to the house where Atera was staying.

“Is it possible to make the sound transmission audible only to specific people?”

“It’s possible, yes.”

Yes! A glimmer of hope appeared.

But that light quickly faded.

“I’m sorry. It’s too much for me.”

“What? Is there a problem?”

“I can use sound transmission the way you want, Player. Paran told me. Sound transmission is also used to locate each other underwater.”

Then why? Atera hesitated, mumbling her answer.

“It’s… it’s all because of me.”

“Because of you, Atera?”

“Because I’m mixed-blood, my abilities are much weaker than normal sea people. The range of my sound transmission is about from here to there. It’s impossible for me to make a sound that reaches all of Shella.”

Atera pointed to the house’s door. A distance of about 5 meters. As she said, it seemed difficult to spread the sound transmission throughout the entire city.

“I see. I’m sorry for asking the impossible.”

“No, no. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of help.”

As I was about to open the house door and leave, I heard Atera mumble something in a small voice.

“If only we had a conch shell, I could help Player…”

“What did you say?”

“It’s nothing!”

“Didn’t you just say, ‘If only we had a conch shell’?”

Atera started to avoid my gaze. I bent down to meet her eyes and asked.

“Is there a way?”

“It’s practically impossible, really…”

“Atera, please. Even a small clue would help. You know, Shella is a big city. We have no leads at all. Right now, we need to grasp at any straw we can.”

“You shouldn’t get your hopes up, okay?”

Originally, Badadkkot had a brilliant alchemist known as the ‘Sage of the Deep Sea’. It’s said that the sage created the barrier surrounding all of Badadkkot.

The Roaring Conch Shell is a magical tool he created.

“Before the protective barrier was made, the defense force patrolled around Badadkkot. The conch shell was a magical tool created for them to use when they spotted danger from afar. It has the effect of amplifying sound transmission.”

“Where is that conch shell now?”

“The workshop, the sage’s workshop. They said all unused magical tools are stored there. But…”

Atera’s lips moved as if she wanted to say something. After hesitating for a long while, the words Atera finally uttered made me rub my face with my palm in frustration.

Is there nothing normal in this damn sea?