Chapter 224: Last Mission (4)
“Tsk. Now that we’ve met, you look like nothing special.”
Cheon-ma clicked her tongue and shifted her attention away from Elle. Then, she called to Yoon-seok.
“What are you doing? Stand beside me.”
“What?”
“Shouldn’t we hurry if we want to get out of this nasty place?”
“Ah, yes…”
If she needed a guide, wasn’t she supposed to call Lee Su-yeon or Zackal, who knew about the mission? Yoon-seok moved to her side without hesitation. For some reason, she had become more assertive about this mission. Regardless of the reason, it was a good thing for Yoon-seok, who wanted to finish quickly and return.
“We need to find a passage?”
“To be exact, it’s a place called the vein of dimensions. We can get out if we head there.”
Since then, nothing significant has happened. With Yoon-seok and Cheon-ma’s combat power, plus the rewinder Lee Soo-yeon and Zackal combining forces, nothing could block them.
「You discovered the vein of dimensions.」
「You have completed your mission much faster than the average completion time. The reward increases significantly.」
「The current information collection rate is 8/100.」
「Special challenges in progress will continue to the next mission.」
Yoon-seok and Cheon-ma smashed their enemies and moved on to the next mission thanks to Lee Su-yeon’s discovery of the vein.
「Group mission (3/15).」
「You have succeeded in coming out through the vein of dimensions. However, the army of destruction will soon find a way and catch up. Collect information about where you are and find a helper.」
The next mission site was a vast meadow with colorful lights everywhere. Originally, it would have taken a long time to figure out where this place was…
“So, where are we now?”
“The spirit world.”
“Who’s the helper we need to find?”
“Guardian of the Wind, Wedul. We’ll find them if we go to the stormy place.”
After arriving in this unknown space, Yoon-seok and his party immediately moved toward their destination without hesitation.
“…How do you guys know all of this?”
Only Elle seemed a little confused, but there was no way she could reach the truth on her own. For her, this moment was real. As they walked and entered the storm whirling around a plateau, they heard a voice. It was Wedul, Guardian of the Wind.
-Foreigners of a strange world, what brings you here?
The original scenario was to do her a favor and have her open the dimension door as payment. However, it was solved without much hassle.
“If you don’t want to die, go and open the dimension door.”
-How dare a human threaten me…!
“I won’t say it twice.”
-…I’ll open it.
The Godly realm of persuasiveness that even Yoon-seok wouldn’t dare enter.
「The Guardian of the Wind has decided to open the door for you.」
「The available dimensions are Moorim, Killian, and Seheranbad. Depending on your choice, the contents of the mission will be updated.」
When the storm abated, and three portals opened, the challengers went still.
“Is this how it’s supposed to be?
“I know, right. What an amazing woman…”
Lee Su-yeon and Zackal, watching with shock and admiration, quickly came to their senses and began to discuss what to do. Yoon-seok built a magic barrier so Elle couldn’t hear and listened to their conversation.
Seheranbad, Moorim, Killian. They were choosing where to go while weighing the odds.
“I think both your roles are the biggest in this mission. Where do you think we should go?”
After saying he would follow their decision, Zackal briefly summarized their options:
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- If they go to Seheranbad, they can get reinforcements relatively easily.
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- If they head to Killian, they can kill the important characters of the army of destruction in advance.
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- It’s difficult to call for aid in Moorim, but their forces are the largest.
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It felt like he was playing a game. But before he could pick, Cheon-ma chose first.
“Then shouldn’t we go to all three places?”
“…Unnie, once you cross the dimensional door, you can’t move to another dimension until the war starts.”
“So, what I’m saying is we should split up.”
Cheon-ma’s way of thinking was different from normal people’s. Ignoring the law of equivalent exchange of giving up something to gain something, it was Cheon-ma’s way to get everything you want. Although Lee Su-yeon was surprised since she’d never thought of it before…
Upon second thought, it did make sense. No, should she say it was more efficient? Maybe that wouldn’t be the case before regression to prevent power distribution. But now, she had monsters like Cheon-ma and Yoon-seok with her. And she also had a challenger named Zackal, who also possessed considerable knowledge of this mission.
“I will go to Moorim. I’m also curious about something.”
Cheon-ma expressed her will. And then Elle, standing far from the silent conversation, spoke timidly.
“I-I have to go to Seheranbad. There’s someone I have to meet there.”
Yoon-seok sighed. He thought it would be better to gather and move together, but it seemed like they would have to separate. He thought they should go to Seheranbad for the special challenges.
“What will you do? Are you coming with me?”
“I think I’d better go to Seheranbad.”
“Why…?”
Did she expect that he would follow? Cheon-ma frowned at Yoon-seok’s answer. Of course, it would be quite fun to wander around the Moorim from 500 years ago with her, but this was an inevitable decision.
“I want to go with you, but if I go, the gap in the other dimensions will be too severe. Plus, this isn’t the only day we have.”
“Today is not the only day… I see. Huhu. Okay. Let’s do that. 3333”
“…?”
Yoon-seok felt embarrassed as the atmosphere suddenly changed, but he thought it wasn’t important since it ended well.
“If that’s the case, I’ll go to Kilian with the remaining challengers.”
Elle and Yoon-seok to Seheranbad, Cheon-ma to Moorim, and the remaining challengers to Kilian. Everyone had decided where to go except for Lee Su-yeon. Naturally, everyone’s eyes gathered to her.
-Su-yeon, please go to Moorim and keep an eye on her so that she doesn’t cause any trouble.
-You go to Seheranbad and watch that dull-looking girl.
Lee Su-yeon sighed loudly as both Cheon-ma and Yoon-seok’s voices reached her. Well, she never planned on going to Kilian, even if it weren’t for those two. There may not be any rankers, but Zackal was one of their nine challengers.
‘Hm, what should I do? I’d be comfortable if I were with oppa… still, I’m nervous about sending her alone.’
Lee Su-yeon finally chose reason over emotion. Maybe it would be different if it was a private matter, but this was the right decision as long as they were on the mission.
“I’ll go to Moorim.”
Cheon-ma looked somewhat dissatisfied, but she didn’t say anything, perhaps because Yoon-seok was watching.
“See you later.”
Soon, the challengers were divided into three groups and crossed their different dimensional gates.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, so stay right next to me.”
Before leaving for Moorim, Lee Su-yeon turned and saw Yoon-seok taking care of Elle. She could contact Yoon-seok with Communication in case of an emergency, so she thought choosing Moorim was the most efficient choice, but…
‘What is this iffy feeling?’
She wondered if she was right.
「Group mission (4/15).」
「You arrived at Seheranbad with the help of Guardian of the Wind, Wedul. Inform each country that it has failed to prevent the army from destruction. Most of them are willing to join hands with you in the final battle.」
The contents of the subsequent mission were in line with what Lee Su-yeon had explained. It would be a waste of time to travel around each country, and the mission was concluded as soon as they went to Levant Neutral.
‘After doing a few errands, the war will break out, right?’
Yoon-seok, reviewing the flow of this journey one last time, shifted his attention to Elle.
“Who’s the person you have to meet?”
“It’s James Hambledon. I can meet him if we go to Levant Neutral.”
“James Hambledon…?”
“Do you know him?”
Of course, he was Ragna’s ancestor and a special challenge that emerged in the 8th-floor mission. Well, he only received a useless seal after clearing the mission.
“No. That name sounds familiar. I’m thinking about it, but I’ve never heard it before.”
Yoon-seok remained calm. Wouldn’t it be ironic if he knew him after revealing that he was from Earth, a dimension she’d never heard before? Seeing how there was suspicion in her voice, Elle slowly realized something was going on with Yoon-seok’s party. He had to remain careful with his words and actions.
“I want to ask you something.”
“Please do.”
“…Why are you helping me?”
“Didn’t I tell you? The army of destruction is also a problem in our dimension.”
“Yes. That’s why you came into the rift. But even if things have come to this, why don’t you try to find a way back?”
“…”
Had she been observing him? Yoon-seok was speechless.
“Why didn’t you ask the Guardian of the Wind if you could go back to Earth? And isn’t that person who was mean to me from Moorim?”
“That’s… uh, um…”
Yoon-seok stuttered. The doubt in Elle’s voice grew stronger.
“You guys act like you know everything… who are you?”
If he let this continue, he wouldn’t be able to deal with it.
“I’ll be honest with you. We have a way to go back.”
He tried to cleverly hide the truth. Yoon-seok hadn’t lied to Elle yet. He was from Earth, and the army of destruction was a problem and had a ways to go. That was all true.
“However, for us to go back, we have to deal with them all. That’s why we’ve decided that we needed the help of the people here.”
“…You guys have a common goal. Is that what you’re saying?”
In other words, it meant that they had to take advantage of this opportunity, but Elle put it into good words.
“Yes. I’m sorry I hid it.”
“No, thank you for telling me. If that were the reason, we would rather welcome it. Is that woman not from Moorim?
“She is, but… I don’t think I can answer that part.”
“You still have more secrets, right? Okay. Just say it like that. It’s better than lying.”
Looking at the old Elle, he could see why Elle now loved to hide the truth so much. If one couldn’t tell the whole truth, she thought it was better than lying.
“So, where should we go to get to Levant?”
It was a place he had visited once before, and he even had a map indicating its current location in his subspace bag, but Yoon-seok asked as if he didn’t know.
“Can you run into the sky as you did earlier?”
“Of course.”
“…Will you carry me then?”
“What…?”
“N-no! That’s not what I meant!”
Elle shook her head and blushed.
“I think it’ll be much faster if you can run while I give directions since it’s an urgent matter. Of course, if it’s a hassle, it can’t be helped….”
Was it because she would have to be in the arms of a man? He could feel her embarrassment. On the other hand, it was nothing unusual for Yoon-seok, who had hugged Elle several times.
“Then, I’ll do it…?”
“Ah, yes…”
Yoon-seok took Elle bridal style without hesitation, and he realized. All of the times he’d hugged Elle was mostly when she was young; he never carried her when she was all grown up.
“…”
“…”
Yoon-seok froze. Suddenly, the mood grew awkward.
“…G-grr!”
Being crushed by something soft and squishy, Asura jumped out of his front pocket. At the same time, the strange air between the two vanished.
“Oh my! Is this your summoned pet?”
Elle’s eyes glinted at Asura, forgetting her shame. Her taste seemed to be the same 500 years ago.
“May I touch it? Wow, it’s this small but tough. So cute!”
Yoon-seok’s face kept burning for some reason.
As they traveled to the Levant, suddenly several messages appeared in front of Yoon-seok’s eyes.
「The number of challengers who reached the 25th floor or higher have been fulfilled.」
「The ranking system of No. 4 Mission Tower will be activated.」
Among the three upheavals that Lee Su-yeon warned about in the past, a phrase indicating the first one showed up.
「All Tower of Missions have met the standards. The second dimension fusion has started.」
「Convergence complete.」
「Mission challengers under the 25th floor can transfer to other trials.」
The Mission Tower closed. This meant that they could no longer transfer to the Mission Tower after tearing the ticket.
‘Then what I’m doing right now is the last mission.’
He got on the last train, but it was a shame.
「Dimensional stores will be integrated.」
「In the future, items from other dimensions can also be purchased in the store.」
「The previous dimension invasion suppression system is greatly weakened.」
「Protect the stars against them, who have become more powerful.」
Reading to the end, he smiled. However, Yoon Seok knew.
The upcoming change had only just begun.