Light of Arad: The First to Walk - Chapter 43



Only Noblemtl

043

The monsters of Shallow Keep were nothing special to Jinseong.

‘It’s okay if 7 or 8 of them come out at the same time… … That alone isn’t bad.’

Considering that you will learn new skills at level 35 and that there will be ways to use those skills in combos or as normal skills, you should be able to get through the next few dungeons without any problems.

In fact, it also meant that there was nothing that could pose a threat to Jinseong in the dungeon area: Alfraira.

Chaeng-grang-!

So, the ones who really got the heat were not just ghouls or skull throwers.

“Not here either~”

Jinseong swung the blue Orb around with his feet, muttering as if singing.

There was, of course, a reason for shattering the object that served as a light illuminating the dark dungeon.

‘When I was a user, when I broke objects in the dungeon, various things would come out. Don’t I have anything like that?’

In the game Dungeon & Fighter, monsters are not the only things that appear in the dungeons.

There are various objects that can be interacted with or destroyed through attacks, and items can be obtained from these objects.

With such greed, Jinseong was trying to break, poke, and destroy things he could see, but he had not achieved much so far.

‘Well, since there are no items dropped by monsters and I’m the type of person who just rummages around on corpses, how could something like this happen?’

It means that if you want to achieve something, you have to do it the way you have been doing so far.

This means that you shouldn’t break glass beads that are shining with light and hope to find gold or potions inside.

‘An object that might contain an item… something like that. For example-.’

It was then that something caught Jinseong’s eye as he went deep into Shallow Keep.

“Grill- keok.”

“Get out of the way, Inma.”

Jinseong approached the ghoul that was trying to pop out of the ground, inserting the directly into the top of its skull, preventing it from popping out, and found a small box.

‘I didn’t know it appeared in Shallow Keep… … Yes, it does exist. If we think about the concept of the dungeons in Alfraira-.’

Although it has changed considerably now, in the past, Alfraira’s dungeons had stories related to the internal strife of the Spider Kingdom.

There are also dungeons related to the ‘Fennes Kingdom Black Elf Hero’s Tomb’, which is still progressing as a main scenario quest.

And for Jinseong now, that wasn’t important.

In the end, only one thing matters.

‘Where there are traces of the old kingdom and old heroes, there are things befitting their status, that is, treasures~ That’s what I’m saying, hehe.’

Jinseong carefully opened the small box with an excited expression.

“I don’t want much. If possible, a defensive item – WHAT?!”

Jinseong had to frown as soon as he heard the creaking sound of the old hinge.

Clearly, it is related to the internal conflict of the Spider Kingdom, which is part of the past story, and the tomb of the Black Elf Hero exists, but where is it now?

“It stinks!”

There was no way that there would be treasure in a cave full of ghouls, skull throwers, and corpses.

Something was crushed inside the small box and was emitting a foul odor.

When Jinseong smelled the fragrant scent subtly mixed in with the pungent smell, he could tell what it was.

‘What is this… … food? It looks completely rotten-.’

Is it an ingredient that has not only been fermented, but has reached a state that we cannot even tell what it has become?

A normal person would have immediately closed the box lid and run away, but Jinseok was different.

‘… … Wait. Alfira. And Underfoot.’

This is Alfira. A little further on, you will find Underfoot, the capital of the Kingdom of Fennes.

And if you recall that Shallow Keep was where the Black Elves, including NPC Morgan, came to investigate the plague, then you can imagine who brought this box.

“Groak, groan!”

“Ugh… I feel like I’m going to throw up too, so don’t talk to me.”

Even though he kept feeling nauseous, Jinseong had no choice but to collect the sticky ‘thing’ that was sticking to his hands.

* * *

“Phew.”

Jinseong came out of Shallow Keep with his hands outstretched like a zombie.

The agony of not being able to wash one’s hands right away was expressed in that posture alone.

How long has it been since Jinseong himself entered and left Shallow Keep?

‘Let’s wash up first and think about it. Should I have asked Nemer to give me something like an automatic shower so I don’t smell even when I wash up?’

It’s been a few hours since I got something sticky on my hands and roughly wiped it off with sand and dirt, so I must have spent almost a day in the dungeon.

However, the level had not yet reached 35.

It was inevitable because the level of the monsters was low and the amount of experience gained was small.

‘I need to quickly find the user who is doing the contaminated quest and chase after them so that I can get something done-… … Ah.’

The only silver lining for Jinseong was that the Alfraira Garrison was bustling.

It wasn’t just because of Robato, a knight from the Duchy of Bel Myer standing near the cloner, and a user with the male priest profession.

Those who they are looking at could be said to be the troops of both countries gathered at the Alfraira Garrison.

“Haha, I told you to get out of here you little brat! Do you want me to taste some more iron balls before I call your leader?”

There is a giant black elf who causes a ruckus while holding a giant iron ball.

And a woman with sharp eyes who doesn’t back down even an inch when looking at such a giant.

“What is this? I’ve been hearing it over and over again to avoid friction with the Black Fairy, so I tried to hold back as much as possible… but this welcoming speech is pretty aggressive?”

Jinseong knew who the two NPCs were just by hearing their lines.

‘The fighter Roel and the cesspool princess Paris… … That means the Morgan quest in Shallow Keep is already over and we can move on to the next one.’

How far along is the current quest?

“This voice… Oh my God, Lord Roel! What are you doing? Stop it!”

“Huh, Clontar? Why are you here-.”

“That’s what I’m saying! Why are you here when you’re supposed to be guarding Underfoot?”

“What? Of course, since there was going to be a war with humans, I ran here in a hurry to fight the strongest one first. I thought this would be more fun than boring border missions……”

Because more members of the duchy were approaching Klontar, who was stuck between Roel and Paris, who were about to fight at any moment.

“Haha… Lord Roel, you really haven’t changed at all.”

“Lord Sharan! Are you here to provide support at the request of the duchy?”

Realizing through Morgan’s journal that they need the support of magicians and alchemists, the duchy immediately dispatches Sharan, the head of the magician’s guild, and Loton, the alchemist.

“Yes, everyone here is a person dispatched at the request of Queen Skadi.”

Jinseong chuckled as he watched Sharan answer confidently from afar.

Knowing the severity of the epidemic and being dispatched on an emergency mission, how could she be relaxed?

‘Huh, it was worth giving me advice in advance. It looks like the Magic Guild has already gathered all the useful information for reference.’

This could be seen as meaning that she is confident that she can deal with any epidemic, and in other words, it could mean that Jinseong’s own stock, which gave her the promise, has also risen.

However, there was another aspect that Jinseong could not simply enjoy.

There was something else I wanted to tell Sharan in advance, but I couldn’t remember it.

“Sharan? You’re Sharan? Haha! It seems like only yesterday that you were chasing me to marry me, but you’ve grown up so much already. If I had met you somewhere else, I wouldn’t have recognized you.”

“……Lord Roel, let’s talk about personal matters later.”

Sharan blushed as she looked at Roel.

It was also one of the parts that Jinseong himself had briefly forgotten.

‘Oh, right. There was a relationship like that. Why didn’t you tell me later? – Ugh, that’s why I said I can only predict the future ‘to some extent.’

It’s impossible to memorize every little detail that doesn’t have a major impact on the main scenario quest, right?

Jinseong wanted to hear something from Sharan, but he decided to go out shamelessly.

“It’s been a while, Knight Robato. The Queen has given you a general explanation of the situation here. How can I help you?”

In this noisy and chaotic situation, the only one with a serious expression was the alchemist, Loton Maximug.

Only after he said that did Clontar, Roel, Paris, and Sharan all fall silent.

Jinseong listened to and confirmed every single detail of the series of events, including telling them the current situation, showing them Morgan’s journal, and seeing Loton and Sharan nodding their heads.

So I could tell.

‘There are no contaminated parts yet.’

At least there are no contaminated points in the current quest for male priest users.

There are no contaminated monsters or anything like that right now.

However, the authenticity has already been confirmed by clearing the third different contamination.

Before a corrupted entity can twist the scenario within a quest, there are various changes that suggest that the quest has already been corrupted.

‘It wasn’t Lenny who was contaminated, but Lenny got involved, and… … There were characteristics such as the Genesis not being discovered before the Lotus was contaminated. Aside from the contaminated entity, there was a signal that indicated that there was a contaminated element within the quest. There was definitely something like that.’

The side effects or impact of a ‘contaminating’ a specific entity, or the aftermath or repercussions of deliberately causing distortion to a specific entity.

It doesn’t matter how you express it, what matters is that there was such a signal.

“I would like to ask Paris and the adventurers to serve as the advance party to clear the path to Underfoot. The rest of you, if the development of a cure to be delivered to the Kingdom of Pennes is successful, please depart as the rearguard along with the transport force.”

Jinseong had to choose.

Should we follow the male priest user until we find some signal?

Or should we just stay in the Alfraira Garrison and wait for a user with a truly corrupted quest to show up?

‘… … focus on what you need to focus on.’

Jinseong hesitated for a moment, but the choice wasn’t that difficult.

Because in the end, what mattered was the standard.

‘My actions and the flow of the polluted quests match up to some extent. When I go to the Sky Castle, the Sky Castle’s pollution is discovered, and when I go to Behemoth, Behemoth’s pollution is discovered. So in the end-.’

Follow along.

If Nemer or someone else is providing such guidance and arrangements so that Jinseong himself can become the right kind of tongs, then in the end, he cannot just wait quietly.

The three adventurers who set out to open up a transport route to Underfoot were the male priest, the user, Paris, the ‘Princess of the Gutters’ representing the duchy, and Roel, the ‘fighter’ representing the Kingdom of Fennes.

Jinseong followed them quietly.

Dungeon Area: The second dungeon in Alfraira, the Spider Lair.

* * *

As soon as you enter the spider den, there is a brief commotion at the three-way intersection.

Roel, Paris, and the user decided to disperse in different directions, and in the midst of this, Roel and Paris bickered, and it was because of this part where they proposed to make a bet on who could kill more spiders and collect more spider legs.

‘… … There’s no need to follow the NPCs, so I’m just following the user-.’

Jinseong was regaining his appetite.

The male priest user was adept at using skills and progressing while acquiring all the items dropped when defeating monsters.

‘You’re scraping everything clean, really. Well, that’s to be expected.’

All that was left in his wake were the corpses of spiders known as ‘Marfisa’, monsters from the spider lair.

The spider corpses, each as big as a large dog, lying face down and oozing sticky fluid, were enough to give Jinseong goosebumps.

“Crunch.”

“Shh, be quiet.”

Jinseong shut the mouth of who was chasing after him.

‘… … Now that I think about it, if I just give it any name, will it recognize it as such? Normally, you would need the to do that… … .’

If this level of communication is possible, then naming it should also be possible.

Jinseong somehow found himself laughing in vain at the thought that this might be the privilege of the possessed.

‘It’s really amazing that I’m happy about such a privilege… I’ve become an Aradian. I guess I should try giving myself a name.’

A creature that simplifies the Apostle Lotus.

Jinseong was thinking about what kind of name would suit him, but he had to put those worries aside for a moment.

“Crook, crook. Crook!”

“Eww-. Hey, if you pull my clothes with your tongue-……Huh?”

Jinseong had to look back at the creature’s unusual behavior.

And I could see it.

Why did pull on her clothes?

“……no way.”

Inside the dungeons of the game Dungeon & Fighter, there are objects that can be destroyed.

While there are objects from which you can obtain items… … .

‘The user has already gone to the next room, but it’s still working because I’m here.’

There are also objects that cause additional monsters to appear after a certain amount of time has passed.

Whether Jinseong was crying or not, spiders the size of cats began crawling out from all over the place.

“Still, I guess I’ll have to consider it a preventive measure against dragon eggs later.”

The number of spiders that jumped out in an instant was estimated to be in the dozens.