Light of Arad: The First to Walk - Chapter 173



Only Noblemtl

173

Approaching the Apostle Anton was not easy either.

As luck would have it, simply approaching Anton would cause him to absorb ‘energy’, so an energy absorption blocking device would be necessary, but mass producing it in the first place was a problem.

Not long after the war with the cartel ended, Anton is taking away the power to operate the production facilities. Where are they going to mass-produce it?

“It’s not that easy to see in real life. This device isn’t that simple either.”

From the user’s perspective, it’s a completely different level of things than having everything ready and clicking away.

Vivi muttered, as if realizing once again how much preparation and determination was needed to actually face Apostle Anton.

“Un said with a gloomy expression, pulling down his military cap slightly.

“Yes. So, there was a time when the plan was put into practice to deal with them quickly through a large-scale landing operation…even if it meant accepting sacrifices.”

“Huh? So, what happened?”

For Vivi, who had little interest in the background setting and storyline of the game Dungeon & Fighter, this was practically the first time she had heard of it.

Luck hadn’t answered that question yet, but Jinseong knew.

‘Breath… … It wasn’t even a dragon, it was just breathing.’

Apostle Anton doesn’t just absorb energy to survive.

Naturally, it knows how to release the energy it absorbs and use it to protect its own body.

“It would not be an exaggeration to say that the fire he breathed was enough to burn both the sky and the sea. Several kilometers away… Most gunships couldn’t even get close to it -. The soldiers on board… were sacrificed like that.”

How much energy would that gigantic body absorb and release again?

Even as a person who already knew the information, Jinseong’s detailed explanation sent shivers down his spine.

‘It’s fortunate that adventurers don’t have to deal with that breath directly. Ugh, how do you deal with that? It’s just a natural disaster, a natural disaster in itself.’

Fortunately, since it is a giant that requires a huge amount of energy, even Apostle Anton needs to be prepared to spit it out.

There was no way Commander-in-Chief Jackter Errox could miss that.

“It was fortunate that we figured out that we couldn’t use the flames multiple times… but it wasn’t easy after that either. It was impossible to get through the barrier of the Tartans that were parasitizing the creature’s body and land. We had to fail again due to surprise attacks by the creatures waiting in advance at each major landing point.”

The problem is that dealing with the Apostle Anton does not mean just Anton alone.

There is tartan.

‘Living with Apostle Anton, it is no exaggeration to say that I am now like Anton’s white blood cell.’

Listening to Un’s sorrowful voice, Jinseong recalled Anton’s background setting.

On the planet Kulankur, where Anton’s race, the Ulu, lived, there were also Tartans living in addition to the Ulu.

The Tartans, who had a similar physique to humans, were dissatisfied with the Ulu people who consumed their energy, and eventually went to war, but it was a fight that had no chance of winning from the start.

Eventually, the Tartans who came to serve the Ulu tribe gradually developed a strange symbiotic relationship with the Ulu tribe over time.

‘The Ulu tribe is huge. It requires a lot of energy. Even just moving to a place where there is energy consumes energy.’

The situation has become one where the Tartan tribe has stepped in to gather energy on behalf of the Ulu tribe, who are in a kind of dilemma.

Tartan gives energy to Ulu and absorbs Ulu’s traits of tough carapace and strength.

‘In the end, the two cannot be considered separately. They have become completely one mentally. The same goes for the Tartan currently in Anton’s body. Even if they were killed, unless they are at the level of a named person, the normal Tartans can be ‘reborn’ in Anton’s body. They are white blood cells themselves.’

As Jinseong puts it, Tartan could be said to be a kind of immune system that protects Anton’s body.

They will block anyone who approaches the outer shell or enters the body and destroys it from within without discrimination.

How many times has the chili shrimp been ‘Anton Jjol’ since it was first introduced, and how many times has the story been repeated?

“So, in the end, the answer is to move with a small number of people that neither Anton nor Tartan will notice. They won’t be able to hold back a force as small as a few gunships. Right, Colonel Woon?”

Although her attitude was somewhat indifferent, she spoke to comfort Yun.

Luck nodded.

“What the adventurer said is correct. Anton cannot be defeated by an attack from the outside, but since he is a living being, there must be a weakness within his body.”

The sorrowful voice and eyes from just a moment ago were nowhere to be found.

Vivi opened her mouth, looking at such luck with admiration.

“That’s right, that’s right! Me too! Jinsang-nim is here! Now, stop worrying and- oh, and there’s Unnie Chili too!”

“……Vivi, I should have met you in society.”

“Huh? Hehe, if that were the case, we would have become really close. Right?”

“No. No.”

Chili Shrimp shook his head, touching his forehead.

Jinseong snickered at the non-short skit between the two people, then laughed for a moment before asking.

“Colonel Yun, you’re collecting black smoke, right? We’re just blocking any approaching Tartans.”

“Yes, so that we can collect the sample as quickly as possible-.”

“So, I’d like to ask you something.”

“-yes?”

I don’t want to know about the relationship between Apostle Anton and Tartan, or about the celestial forces that deal with Apostle Anton.

There was one thing that Jinseong had been curious about from the beginning.

“If by any chance… we meet the Tartan controlling the black smoke emission, can we kill him?”

Jinseong was still asking Yun, but his eyes quickly turned to the chili shrimp.

It was because of the difference that Jinseong remembered.

‘The possessed ones, the adventurers, said that it actually has the same flow as a raid. However, if it follows the main scenario flow with NPCs like this… … the dungeon composition is different. The monsters you have to face are different.’

If the main scenario flows as planned, you will collect a sample of the black smoke with luck, then return, and then have NPC Hiram remove the black smoke.

But what if it’s a raid?

What if we base the raid on stopping/subduing Apostle Anton?

‘We have to stop the source of the black smoke directly. Then-.’

Yun couldn’t hide his embarrassment.

It meant that it was something that showed expression even on his cool face.

“That… won’t be easy even for Jinseong-nim. Of course, I’ve heard plenty about Jinseong-nim’s activities from Lieutenant General Niver, but it’s clearly different from dealing with the cartel-.”

“That’s okay.”

There was someone who stepped forward to cut off such unfortunate words.

The girl with short red hair, Chili Shrimp, turned her head away.

She said, looking at the truth.

“While Colonel Yun is collecting samples of the black smoke… ‘We’ will benefit more if we can eliminate the source of the black smoke.”

It meant that it was no different from the way chili shrimp had been done until now.

Jinseong looked into the eyes of the chili shrimp.

We’ve already decided to be together. We’ve made a ‘deal’ with each other.

How much trust is that deal based on?

Also, what is the level of skill of ‘Anton Zel’ that she proudly emphasized?

“Are you saying ‘it’s okay to do that’, Mr. Chili Shrimp?”

This was kind of a test.

“Of course. It’s better to do it ‘if possible’. Dig a ditch and catch crayfish. See you and pick mulberries. Right, Colonel Un?”

It was the chili shrimp who couldn’t help but know that it was a test.

Only Lionel, stuck in the middle, looked back and forth between the two of them in bewilderment.

And Jackter Eagle-Eye’s adjutant answered.

“That’s it… If you, adventurers- if you think it’s possible, if you can do it without taking too much risk…! I will take responsibility for it and report back to the Commander-in-Chief.”

resolve.

Although he was only an adjutant, Un Lionel, who was also the person in charge at the time, made the decision.

* * *

Pushuuuuuuu… … !

A gunship landed somewhere between Anton’s cheek and neck.

“Kyaaaaat?!”

“Intruder, intruder-!”

─────, ─────, ─────!

The nameless Tartan tribe that looked like werewolves rushed in, but they couldn’t withstand the attacks of Jinseong, Vivi, and Chili Shrimp for even 3 seconds.

Yun had to readjust his hat as he looked at Tartan, who had turned into a meat slab in an instant.

“Then, I will… start collecting from the place where the smoke is coming out the thickest. The place where I can feel the aura of a powerful Titan-.”

Following the flow of the main scenario quest, Un Lionel collects black smoke.

“Over there.”

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Huh? Let’s go together!”

And the three of them jumped into the ‘Source of Black Smoke’ dungeon, which was the first to be entered during the past Anton Raid and Anton Subjugation War.

* * *

“Chili Shrimp, please-”

“Ah, you don’t have to worry about that. This is what the Bing-ui-ja says. You don’t have to go through all the trouble of getting 2 levels or anything. There’s no need to beat 4 levels here to move on to the next level or anything like that.”

Before Jinseong could finish speaking, Chili Shrimp answered.

Jinseong smiled in relief at those extremely cooperative remarks.

“-I see… It may look like a raid structure, but the actual clearing system is like a normal dungeon?”

Anton Raid in the game Dungeon & Fighter was content that could accommodate up to 20 raiders.

The maximum number of people in a party according to the system is 4.

That is, Anton Reid had a strategy of dividing the raid into 5 parties of 4 people each, or increasing the number of parties to 7 or 8 by forming a party with less than 4 people.

This kind of team composition varies depending on the tendencies of the raid leader and members, but the problem was that free-riding had to be prevented in order to fairly divide up the raid rewards, and the game Dungeon & Fighter introduced the concept of a ‘minimum number of dungeon clears per party’, or ‘kle’ as users call it, as a measure to prevent free-riding.

Since defeating a boss monster is recognized as one clear, in the case of the Apostle Anton Raid, the party had to defeat the boss monster of the internal dungeon that makes up the Anton Raid at least twice.

Unlike the previous encounters with Apostle Lotus and Apostle Diregie, Anton was the first Apostle to appear as actual raid content in the game, so Jinseong had to ask questions to confirm the various differences, and Chili Shrimp answered them all without hesitation or lies.

“I guess my sister is really good at it. She’s not just talking, is she?”

“……Why does Vivi speak so beautifully when speaking to her superiors?”

“Huh? I’ve never really heard people say that I have a nice way of speaking. Hehe, even if my sister and I met outside, we’d get along really well-.”

“Ah, it’s noisy. Hmm, hmm, Mr. Jinseong?”

The running chili shrimp slowed down and called out to Jinseong.

After waiting for Jinseong to come close to her, she asked.

“Mr. Jinseong… is a little different?”

It was a question that left a lot of things out.

However, it was clear that it contained enough weight to make even the oblivious Vivi shut her mouth for a moment.

Jinseong thought for a moment. What should he say?

Chili Shrimp’s continued questions were faster than those worries.

“What’s different, how different… I don’t know where the difference starts, but it’s definitely different. It’s definitely different from the ‘adventurers’ I’ve seen so far.”

She said, referring to the reactions of the NPCs on the Noble Sky.

Jinseong answered with a small sigh.

“……So, what is it that you want to say?”

What are you curious about?

The chili shrimp looked up at Jinseong’s face.

Jinseong noticed that her red eyes were trembling slightly.

Her small lips twitched as if she was thinking for a moment, then finally opened.

“Shall we play a game of truth or dare?”

“Huh? Truth or dare? Out of the blue?”

“I know that Mr. Jinseong is trustworthy. I know that he’s good at what he does. But, you know, trust isn’t something that’s built that way, right? It’s important to be open and honest with each other.”

Jinseong tried to confirm the statement of Chili Shrimp, who did not understand English.

But at that moment, Anton’s outer shell, made of rock and covered in volcanic ash, vibrated for a moment.

In addition to the periodic thumping sound, what could be heard from far away was a voice.

“It’s───Run───Da───!”

Jinseong saw it when he heard the monster’s voice.

“……Tog.”

A monster encountered in the second room of Anton Reid’s first dungeon, ‘Source of Black Smoke’.

And the first named monster you will face in the Anton Raid.

‘Tog’ was running towards Jinseong’s group.

“Ms. Vivi, Mr. Chili Shrimp! Tog Pattern! Of course, you shouldn’t bump into it, and be careful not to step on it because it will create fire where it jumps.”

“Leave it alone.”

“-yes?”

Jinseong quickly tried to warn Tog by recalling his pattern of ‘running’.

The one who stood in his way was the chili shrimp.

The red-haired summoner glanced at the tog in front, then turned his head to look at Jinseong.

And then he said.

“I’ll go first, so Jinseong, you grade it. And after everything’s done… let’s have a serious talk.”

Swaaaaaaah-!

In her hand was a whip of golden brilliance.

She spoke in a small voice too quiet for Vivi to hear.

“Is there a way to return to reality, and do you know how, other than becoming a sharpened blade?”

Jinseong tried to test the chili shrimp.

And the chili shrimp was also something I wanted to test for authenticity.

Through his knowledge, information, and knowing.