Light of Arad: The First to Walk - Chapter 48



Only Noblemtl

048

Dungeon Area: Northmire’s first dungeon is the Green City of Grozny.

Although the name is Green City, it is a proper dungeon where monsters appear.

That is, the existence of life itself is not special to Jinseong.

Since it is a dungeon, of course there will be monsters, and above all, since they did not follow the user, I know that there are countless monsters here that have not been sorted out yet.

So the reason Jinseong was flustered was not because of the black shadow itself.

‘… … Did you jump? Did you run away? Did you see me?’

The fact that the being here saw the real self and avoided it.

A monster wouldn’t do that.

Although some monsters have attack patterns such as hiding in the shadows or targeting the user from behind through what is essentially ‘teleportation’, what Jinseong was seeing now clearly did not feel like that.

Something in the alley between the buildings ran away.

After Jinseong himself confirmed that he had cut down the scarecrows.

“Did you see that?”

“Crunch.”

“Hmm… That’s strange. I came here to check if I could enter the green city of Grozny… But there’s no way someone would run away after seeing me.”

Tat tat tat, Jinseong quickly chased after the shadow.

However, it was impossible to immediately identify the person, whether he had passed quickly through the alley or was hiding well.

‘You’ve been running for a long time – you seem to know the geography of this place well.’

Eventually, Jinseong stopped chasing for a moment and looked around.

Another reason he came here instead of following the users was because there was one more thing he needed to check.

Jinseong’s own level is still 34.

Is it really possible to enter a dungeon without even meeting the ‘dungeon requirement level’ at this level?

‘That problem has been bothering me since the beginning, when it came to the Kingdom of Pennes, Noirefera… … At least back then, I wasn’t sure if the concept of following the user would be applied. But now it’s clear. I can enter. It doesn’t matter if I don’t meet the minimum level.’

Even though the green city Grozny that we have now entered is the lowest level in this region, isn’t it clear that it is higher than Jinseong’s own level?

Then, there should be no problem in wandering around the entire dungeon area: Northmire.

‘Whew… … Still, I’m a little nervous after such a long time.’

Jinseong suppressed his emotions of half nervousness and half excitement.

By the time you finish all the quests in this , your level will reach 50.

That is, even in the green city of Grozny, the recommended level is over 40, and the dungeons that you have to go through now and in the future also have a significant difference in level from your true self.

‘Hmm, what could possibly come out of here? A boss like a dogmonger isn’t here either… … and monsters related to Direji are even less so. Something like Duke Yuris is pretty much out of the question.’

A being intelligent enough to identify and avoid its true self in the green city of Grozny.

And perhaps a being more powerful than Jinseong himself.

Jinseong moved forward cautiously.

Phew, phew, phew-!

How far have we progressed?

Once again, several scarecrows began to wriggle and uproot the pillars, leaping towards the real thing.

“……Even if you’re careful, there are still some mobs – , , .”

After quickly slashing the air with , actual damage is dealt with by and .

Even though the damage per hit was lower than that of , there was no way a dummy could withstand the continuous attacks.

‘-I can handle it easily… … but I still find that kind of thing a bit annoying.’

As Jinseong was fighting regular monsters, he heard the noise of flying insects, which was very annoying.

For humans who are irritated by even a single mosquito, the sight of dozens or hundreds of giant flying insects swarming around would be terrifying.

Wheeee …

Jinseong gripped the handle of the tightly.

It wasn’t because I was nervous.

“, .”

Anyway, the small monsters have already faced off against the Mini Marphisas in the Kingdom of Pennes.

“Crunch?”

“It’s okay, there’s nothing to pack here.”

“Cor, cor!”

Jinseong smiled as he looked at Taco, who was pointing at the monsters’ corpses.

Parsac-!

And as if that conversation was the starting point, someone appeared with the sound of bushes moving.

“Who-……. Ah?!”

“Who are you? What brings you here?”

It was a woman with long, green hair, somehow fitting the name of the city of Grozny, the Green City.

Although he was looking at Jinseong with very wary eyes, it was Jinseong who was actually embarrassed.

Because Jinseong knew the identity of the woman who appeared before his eyes.

‘… … Michelle!’

Cypher, Michelle Monaghan.

A leader who protects the green city of Grozny and leads all Cyphers.

At the same time, he was the first character to be encountered as a boss monster in the green city of Grozny.

* * *

Jinseong was flustered, but at the same time he calmly collected his thoughts.

Michelle will definitely be met in the green city of Grozny. And as a boss monster.

But before we can meet like this, there are still a few people we have to go through.

‘No, I’m not a user. If the path I took wasn’t a path that users take-.’

Meeting Michelle right away isn’t something that should never happen. It’s something that’s a small possibility.

So Jinseong spoke with his chest puffed out.

“I am a member of the [Anomalous Phenomenon Emergency Response Committee] of the Mages’ Guild of the Duchy of Bel Myre. I came here to investigate the epidemic that has spread here in North Myre. I thought I might be able to find some clues about another type of cure here.”

Michelle’s eyes widened for a moment.

Maybe it was natural

‘This is what Michelle says when the original user comes… … .’

Isn’t this what Michelle says when the user, that is, the adventurer, and the NPC Louise arrive together, guessing their purpose?

Because Jinseong himself was doing it so shamelessly.

“There is no cure here. The plague has not spread…….”

Michelle said in a crawling voice.

The ending was slurred so I couldn’t hear it properly, but Jinseong already knew it without having to hear it.

‘It’s because of Michelle’s telekinesis. Not only Michelle, but also the people you meet on your way here, like ‘Bug’ Deschamps and ‘Druid’ Mia, are all Cyphers, they’re Cyphers.’

Another online game created by Neople, the company that created the game Dungeon & Fighter.

Two different games, but characters who appear as if they were cameos, due to a kind of entanglement of planes or parallel worlds.

Michelle swallowing her words as she looks at Jinseong could also be said to be the sorrow of the characters living here in Arad while possessing special abilities within Cyphers.

“But by any chance-. How are you, a member of the Magic Guild, free from the plague? You must have been exposed to danger just to get here.”

Michelle instead asked Jinseong a pointed question.

Jinseong felt a stinging sensation, but he didn’t bother to hide it.

“A similar incident occurred in the kingdom of Fennes, the land of the dark elves. After finding the cause of the epidemic there, they created a cure to some extent and are using it as a stopgap measure. It is not perfect yet.”

“The Kingdom of Pennes… the Black Elf….”

Michelle muttered, emphasizing the word dark elf.

Jinseong did not let down his guard against his surroundings while observing Michelle like that.

‘I have nothing to do here anyway. There’s no need to talk to Michelle like this. Just hang up and leave.’

Of course, the reason was to return.

Michelle Monaghan will meet users and accompany them on various missions.

There is no need for Jinseong himself to come forward and say anything now.

Jinseong’s current goal is to give only extremely factual information about something that will eventually be revealed anyway, and then just get out of there.

“If we had cooperated with the Dark Elves… If the Duchy had helped them… ”

“hmm?”

Michelle said to Jinseong, who was rolling his eyes.

“Could you please help us?”

It was a single word that shocked Jinseong.

* * *

‘Michelle asks for help!? This is ridiculous, how can this happen?’

How difficult it is not to show that you are surprised.

Jinseong asked, trying his best to control his expression.

“What does it mean to ask for help…?”

“Literally. Right now, here in Grozny – the plague hasn’t broken out, but it won’t last long. Not just for me, but for the safety of my comrades who still live here… us too – Hey, if you can give us a place to be protected, like Hendonmeyer or something else – ”

“Ahem, that, that! That’s not something I can decide right now… right?”

As soon as Jinseong finished speaking, Michelle expressed her opinion.

Rather, Jinseong was so embarrassed that he had to forcefully cut her off.

Michelle looked at Jinseong with a wary expression, but with a hint of hope in her eyes, and asked.

“Then who… how can decide?”

“That’s, uh…….”

Jinseong had to first buy time by rambling on.

Because I had to struggle to understand this situation.

Michelle Monaghan, the leader of the Cyphers, asks the Duchy of Bel Myre for help?

‘That can’t be. Michelle – Cyphers are people who have always been persecuted. Like using telekinesis, or controlling bugs, or making plants grow faster. In any case, a power different from the magic used in Arad… … Because they were born knowing how to use such powers… … .’

They were abandoned by their parents as well.

They created a small community where only they lived, barely managing to hide and avoid the gaze of the outside world.

A character full of anger and distrust towards ‘normal people’ who call them witches or treat them like unpleasant people.

So she asks Jinseong for help?

‘Ah. I see.’

When he thought about it that way, Jinseong was finally able to calm his startled heart and grasp the situation.

Michelle doesn’t ask for help. That’s normal.

That is, this is an abnormal flow.

If there is an abnormal flow at this point.

‘… … This is contamination.’

It means you are on a contaminated quest.

Jinseong still had some questions that remained unanswered.

If this is contamination, then ‘whose’ quest is it that has been contaminated?

Is it possible for contamination to occur even when the user is not moving around with them?

‘I don’t know. But that’s not what’s important right now.’

What’s important is the situation we’ve already faced.

This is the result of Michelle already asking for help from Jinseong herself, a ‘person of the principality’ and a ‘normal person’.

‘That must mean that the plague in Dereji is so threatening. Then I understand. The power to stop the spread of the plague cannot be used indefinitely.’

Michelle might have wanted to ask for help as a representative of Cyphers instead.

Although the difficult circumstances were understandable, Jinseong had no choice but to bite his lower lip.

‘But… … . No. That won’t do.’

But she shouldn’t be the first to ask for help.

Even for the sake of the adventurer’s growth. Even for the sake of making the adventurer and Michelle intertwined in the future.

What can Jinseong himself do?

“Hoo, hoo…….”

Jinseong was already taking a deep breath.

It was also because I instinctively felt that it was something I had to do.

‘Even if I run away now-. Even if I just avoid this place, Michelle… …will soon ask for help from the adventurers and users. Just like she did to me.’

And that situation should not happen.

To do that, what actions must Jinseong himself take?

Jinseong closed his eyes tightly.

And when he came up again, the ends of his eyebrows were pointed.

“Keep away, you annoying cyphers.”

“……ah?!”

Michelle must first make the ‘normal people’ hostile.

And Jinseong himself must take on the role of the villain.