Light of Arad: The First to Walk - Chapter 30



Only Noblemtl

030

Jinseong couldn’t help but be momentarily flustered for several reasons.

‘There are other items with similar names, but at least the mask with the ‘High Priest’ in it has definitely been discontinued.’

As someone who has been enjoying the game Dungeon & Fighter since its launch, this equipment is quite familiar to me. However, it is an old unique item that users who have only recently started playing the game may not even know of its existence.

‘In the past, you could obtain them by chance when you killed certain monsters in certain dungeons, such as the outskirts of the Behemoth Temple, but not anymore. Basically, the GBL series these days is a completely random drop, where you don’t know when, where, or from which monster, so most of them are close to being discontinued.’

Among them, one of the pieces of equipment that has now been completely discontinued, .

What surprised Jinseong the most wasn’t just the fact that he had obtained a discontinued item.

The method of acquisition was the most absurd and surprising thing.

‘Clearly the Muse user, the item that the female archer user left behind was definitely recognized as an ‘item’. I picked up the item that was clearly distinguishable as equipment that had fallen on the floor. But this-.’

It wasn’t an item.

I just picked it up naturally from the face of a brainwashed GBL believer that Jinseong himself had dealt with.

Considering that before picking it up, there was no indication whatsoever that this was an item, something usable, or equippable!

‘What I briefly thought about in the Sky Castle is actually applicable. I… … have to rip items off monster corpses?!’

Jinseong thought.

‘Then it’s such a shame! How many items have I missed so far!’

It’s not just because the game Dungeon & Fighter is his life that he feels regretful about not prioritizing the thought of it being terrible.

‘Ah, there might be items that can be opened and sold-. In this way, you can obtain discontinued items, or you can use discontinued materials to make things that you can’t make in Dungeon & Fighter now, right? Let’s experiment first-.’

Plain: For Jinseong, who had become a reality in Arad, countless ways to greatly increase his survival ability flashed through his mind!

Jinseong started moving without realizing it.

“Mr. Jinseong? What…are you doing?”

So Lenny had to ask Jinseong with a worried expression what he was going to do.

“Huh? Oh… Huh?”

For Jinseong, it was actually a blessing that Lenny took care of him.

Fiona is a low-ranking female knight like Lenny, but she stands out due to her bright blonde hair color.

And the lower-ranking male knight, Den, who is always wearing a helmet, so it’s hard to even see his expression.

“Th, th… why are you carrying a mask? And-.”

“The reason for stripping the corpse of its clothes is… for the purpose of an investigation at the level of the Magician’s Guild?”

Because, unlike Lenny, the two of them were so frightened that they even took a step back.

This is because Jinseong was fiddling with the clothes of the dead GBL believers and trying to take them off.

Jinseong was startled by his own actions and pulled his hand away.

Then he said while looking at the three people’s faces.

“Yes, that kind of… feeling? Ahem, not just ordinary believers among the GBL cult, but high-ranking ones! Yes! I have a guess that the clothes those people wear are different… Yes.”

“What are you going to do by finding it?”

“Research… the Wizards’ Guild.”

Jinseong answered Lenny’s question in an uncertain voice.

There’s no way this is research.

Even if he is Sharan of the Magic Guild, he has no knowledge of the GBL Church, which has always existed only on the ruins of Behemoth.

Jinseong’s wish was always the same from the beginning.

and .

Just like the mask that Jinseong himself is holding in his hand, these items have been discontinued among users as the established acquisition route has disappeared.

‘In particular… … If I remember correctly, it’s an item that raises the skill levels of the Ghost Inspector and Dark Knight.’

Because they were trying to strip the brainwashed GBL priests of their clothes to confirm it.

However, in this situation, it was so far removed from the situation that Jinseong could only cover it up with an awkward laugh.

“But first… it’s probably not important. The closer you get to the center of the temple, the more high-ranking priests there will be, right? Should we go for now? Ah, hahaha.”

“Mr. Jinseong, this is strange.”

“That’s strange, Mr. Lenny. What’s strange about that? Let’s go! Yes!”

Lenny, Fiona, and Dan stared at the back of Jinseong, who was leading the way.

But the laughter and chatter only lasted for a short while.

Jinseong warned, if only to take responsibility for making the atmosphere somewhat chaotic.

“The closer you get to the center of the temple, the stronger the Apostle Lotus’s mental control will become. Everyone, be careful.”

* * *

It was a remark made to create tension, but Jinseong’s words were by no means a lie.

In fact, weren’t there some people left in the Blood Jade and the outskirts of the temple who weren’t under Lotus’s mental control?

“Jinseong……nim. But how should I be careful?”

However, the problem is that even Jinseong, who had warned him to be careful, cannot easily answer Den’s questions.

The main ability of the Apostle Lotus is to control the mind and cause it to become confused, causing it to see hallucinations and such.

If the subject cannot overcome such hallucinations, the subject’s mind will be completely in Lotus’ hands, and it can be seen that the subject is actually controlled.

“You have to have…strong mental strength.”

“So, what do you mean by mental strength… Fiona, Lenny here, and I have all been trained at the knight school, but we still don’t quite understand what it means to strengthen mental strength-. How, should we give it some strength?”

“Huh? Haha, that’s not true. Mr. Den has a surprisingly good sense of humor-.”

“Damn! How far do you plan to tarnish the honor of the Iron Wolf Knights?!”

It was only after hearing Fiona’s rebuke that I realized that the question I was asking was serious and that I should have been putting strength into my face.

At that point, Jinseong had to swallow his saliva.

Even Jinseong himself doesn’t know how to strengthen his mental power.

But at least I knew it wasn’t going to be like this.

“Who are you?”

“yes?”

You have to make them believe in themselves.

If we consider that building self-esteem and self-respect are also necessary elements for making mental strength clear,

Jinseong looked at the three people and raised his voice slightly.

“Who are you? Aren’t you the proud knights of the Iron Wolf Order of the De Los Empire? You know best that you have undergone rigorous training. Don’t you?”

“Hmm.”

“Yes. It was really a vomit-inducing training.”

Fiona and Dan nodded at Jinseong’s words.

Jinseong continued speaking, looking at the two people in turn, except for Lenny, who was already full of trust.

“You have to believe in yourself. Of course! You can avoid being brainwashed right away, right? The power of the Apostle Lotus is that strong, and even just being confused or paralyzed can be dangerous.”

“Oh, no, then what should I do?!”

The knights were moved to tears by the remark that they were giving medicine and bottles.

“The only good thing is that there are at least four of us. If even one of the four can survive, that one person can wake up the rest and move. In the meantime, even if the brainwashed GBL cult members or hunters show up, don’t you have the ability to protect them? The Iron Wolf Knights of the De Los Empire?”

At Jinseong’s question, the expressions on Lenny, Fiona, and Dan’s faces changed.

From the fear of facing a huge enemy called the Apostle to the firm resolve that gradually grows.

“That’s right, Jinseong.”

“you’re right.”

“Because between us…we even know each other’s sleeping habits.”

This was one of the reasons why Jinseong approached Harts and said he would take these three people with him.

If you bring too many people with you, it might cause confusion, but who are they?

Lenny, Fiona, and Dan are close friends who especially trust each other.

Since they know each other’s condition and feelings better than anyone else, they will be able to take care of each other, and even if someone is mentally controlled, they will know how to suppress them without causing fatal injuries.

‘In that respect, there are some regrets. In fact, I originally wanted to create equipment that could block Lotus’s mental attacks.’

It cannot be said that there was no way to deal with it, but Jinseong was licking his lips in regret.

In fact, one of the reasons I asked Sharan to observe Iris was so that Jinseong could make the bracelet she had given to the user, the , himself.

‘Sharan said she didn’t know either. What Iris does and how she does it. Ugh, in the past, there was a quest to make a Hyper Jammer in-game, but now I can’t even get the materials-. No, if I had known earlier that you could get it from monster corpses and such, I wonder if I could have done it somehow… … .’

It’s too late now anyway.

For now, we have no choice but to move forward, hoping that another method that Jinseong himself has devised will be effective.

‘Anyway, the was an item that users could make in the past. If we start from that, we should see that the user’s skills alone can resist Lotus’s mental attacks to some extent. We don’t know how strong it would be or how many times it would happen.’

If I had to pick one truth amidst all the chaos, it would be that Apostle Lotus’s transformation into Behemoth was one of the worst things that could have happened to him.

He cannot exert his strength without water, so he has lost most of his strength as he dries up in the extremely dry space.

Jinseong said as the rough, crunchy sound of footsteps was heard again.

“Ms. Fiona and Mr. Dan, please leave marks carefully so that the next group can check the path we took. And Mr. Lenny-”

“For Lotus……”

“Glory to the Lotus, and may all mankind be ruled by the Lotus!”

“-Let’s try to get rid of those guys who came out with me.”

Jinseong charged forward, emitting the light of his beam saber.

Since there were not many enemies, Jinseong’s plan was to use the second combo skill starting from to deal with the brainwashed GBL cult.

And at the moment when he was about to swing his first sword, Jinseong realized.

I can’t hear Lenny.

Fiona and Dan’s voices are not heard.

There were definitely two enemies in front of me. And now there appear to be three.

It looks like four.

It looks like five.

“Crazy! !”

Jinseong swung his sword, filling it with dark energy, as if his vision was being distorted.

The momentum was enough to cut down all the approaching enemies, but the beam saber’s blade merely cut through the air.

After that, Jinseong’s black magic had to stop.

More precisely, the movement of the true nature itself had to stop.

This was because the brainwashed GBL believers were no longer visible before my eyes.

The bodies of the GBL believers were already changing into something reddish.

A color and life form that cannot be found anywhere except in ancient ruins made of faded stones and the green plants that somehow take root and live in those ruins.

As the reddish things that had been extending out gradually grew larger and began to climb up, wrapping themselves around the ruins on Behemoth and the like, Jinseong realized.

‘I got caught.’

Jinseong himself is already under a mental attack from the Apostle Lotus.

The body was moving properly, but could this be considered ‘actually moving’?

If by any chance it actually moves, will you be able to tell whether what you see now is just an illusion or the people who came with you here?

First of all, when you turn your gaze and look outside the ancient ruins, you encounter five sets of eyes.

How can one explain a gigantic creature with five pupils, each of which is larger than any creature Jinsung has ever seen?

‘Wake up. Don’t be fooled. It’s a Lotus, but it’s not a Lotus. It’s an illusion. The real thing isn’t here.’

Jinseong shook his head and gripped his sword.

What is more urgent than moving recklessly is to calm your mind.

I had to keep repeating this to myself while looking around clearly.

‘Don’t get excited. Even though I was the ruler of the planet Solaris… …! Right now, I’m just an octopus trapped in a jar-.’

It was at that moment that Jinseong, who was thinking about how to break away from the illusion and come to terms with it, heard an unfamiliar voice.

[… …Who are you.]

A person who gives goosebumps all over your body just with his voice.

There was no need to think twice about who he was.

The 8th Apostle, the long-legged Lotus.

The apostle who could hold thousands of weapons at once said.

[How do you know my hometown?]

Just with that question, Jinseong was able to gain some insight into the abilities of Apostle Lotus, something he had never experienced before in the game Dungeon & Fighter.