“Well, let’s get ready to go in.”
Milphage tapped Seo Jun-Ho on the shoulder as if he was sorry for what had happened earlier.
“Shameless scoundrel,” the Frost Queen remarked.
Seo Jun-Ho thought the situation wasn’t that bad.
‘His suspicions about me have faded, and it’s easy to tell that we’re in a business relationship.’
Seo Jun-Ho pushed the hand off his shoulder with a deliberately uncomfortable expression.
“All right.”
“Well, tsk…”
Although Milphage clicked his tongue at Seo Jun-Ho giving him the cold shoulder, he couldn’t say anything because he was guilty.
After this small interaction, a group of people arrived, exuding a restrained presence.
“Ohh, if it isn’t the commander! How long has it been?” Milphage greeted.
“Hmm, it’s the Hallem mercenaries.”
A knight softly nodded. He looked very tired, with large bags under his eyes, but his aura was extraordinary.
‘What is this monster? I don’t think he loses out at all compared to Mr. Kim Woo-Joong.’
It was Seo Jun-Ho’s first time meeting such a powerful person among the inhabitants of this world. When Seo Jun-Ho looked at the knight with sparkling eyes, Milphage whispered as if trying to make up for his earlier mistake.
“He’s the Commander of the Imperial Knights of the Ruben Empire.”
‘The Imperial Knight… Commander!’
Surprised, Seo Jun-Ho greeted him politely, “Nice to meet you. I am Player Seo Jun-Ho.”
“William Forface. But, Seo Jun-Ho…” William tilted his head about 30 degrees and looked at Seo Jun-Ho for a moment. “A Player’s name rarely reaches my ears, but I have heard of yours.”
“Huhu, surprising, isn’t it? It has only been over a year and a half since he debuted,” Milphage interjected.
“A year and a half… Players grow fast.”
“That’s true, but he is an exceptional case.” Milphage praised Seo Jun-Ho, then asked, “But if you came to see me… Is it almost time?”
“I’ll explain when everyone gets together.”
In a moment, the Six Masters gathered near William one by one. After confirming that everyone had gathered, he casually flipped a file and explained, “When the operation begins, the mages will temporarily block the cracks in Blackfield.”
“When you say block it, does that mean we can’t rush out even if there’s an emergency inside?” asked Son Chae-Won.
“We will open the blockade after confirming your identity. However, the possibility of an infectious disease cannot be ignored, so quarantine is a must.”
He spoke in a business-like voice without a shred of compassion. Naturally, the Players’ eyes looking at him weren’t that kind.
‘It seems everyone is smart.’
Not a single person complained or grumbled openly. It was expected as William was a key figure in the empire. He was too big to turn into an enemy just because of a foul mouth.
“Well, it’ll be a big problem if a monster comes out from the inside through the crack.”
“Unless it’s a special case, we won’t come out until we find a clue to seal the crack.”
“Thank you.” William closed the file and raised three fingers. “There are three cracks in Blackfield. Even though the entrances are different, you will still meet inside.”
“Is it up to us to decide where we will enter?”
“I have already decided,” William announced his decision.
Sky Soul and Labyrinth.
The Silent Moon and Silver Constellation.
The Hallem Guild and the Goblin Guild.
“Guilds will move in pairs and investigate inside.”
“Hmm, we’re with the Goblins… Even though they’re punks, their skills aren’t bad.”
Milphage muttered while caressing his chin. Seo Jun-Ho looked toward the Goblin Guild. There were quite a few welcome faces.
‘Ha In-Ho, Gasman, Healer Jang Hae-Won…’
Gong Ju-Ha was there as well. She had her hands in her pocket and was playing the role of a dignified team leader. When her eyes met with Seo Jun-Ho’s, she smiled once, but she quickly controlled her expression.
“If this commission is satisfactorily resolved, His Majesty will not forget your hard work.” William finished his speech with a tired look. “I wish you good luck.”
***
“The Goblin Guild and the Hallem Mercenaries can go into this crack.”
It felt as if they were being forced into the crack by the soldiers of the empire. When they came in, the magicians outside temporarily blocked the cracks.
“Kaak~ Tweh! It makes me so sad that I don’t want to be a Player anymore.”
“Leader, can we really not do anything about that? We are Players with quite an influence. How can they treat us like this?”
“What can we do? The other party is the empire. Don’t be so proud. Just focus on what’s in front of you.”
The huffing mercenaries quickly quelled their anger at the order. As Milphage had said, it wouldn’t make any difference even if they chewed out the people who weren’t even there. They began to talk less and started to analyze their surroundings first.
“It’s dark.”
“However, it’s not like we can’t see at all. It’s because there’s a lot of trees above us. It’s like a jungle.”
“There are a lot more rocks than trees out here. Does the environment really change this much from passing a single black wall?”
“It reminds me of the old days. It feels like I’m in a Gate.”
“I don’t see anything like beehives?”
As the mercenaries expressed their feelings, Shin Sung-Hyun of the Goblin Guild suddenly made a stiff expression and flicked his finger. Then, a bundle of vines in the front was cut into chunks, revealing the scenery beyond.
“Uh, am I dreaming now?”
“…Blackfield is the area above the Wailing Mountains on the map, right?”
“Right. That’s right, but what’s with…”
Hallem’s mercenaries and the Goblin Guild members looked at the scene before them with determined expressions. It was the harmony of civilization and nature. No, to put it correctly, it was the appearance of nature engulfing civilization.
“Isn’t that… a building?” someone muttered.
There was a tall building that could only be seen on Earth. Of course, the architectural style was not as modern as on Earth. In addition, it was covered in green moss, vines, and leaves. It was like a building that had been abandoned for hundreds of years, something you would only see in a science fiction movie.
“…I feel like I’m visiting the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia.”
“Considering it’s from you, it’s not a bad metaphor, but that’s a magic tower.”
Shin Sung-Hyun replied with an intrigued look at Milphage’s words.
“What do you mean a magic tower? What are you talking about?”
“Have you never been to a magic tower?”
“Of course not. Why would I go there when I’m not even a mage?”
“I have been there because I wanted to see it at least once.”
There was a tall circular building that looked just like the building in front of them. That was the tower of mages, a magic tower.
“Hmm, then is there something wrong with the history books?” Gong Ju-Ha joined the conversation with a puzzled expression.
“In general, it is said that the one and only Magic Tower was built by the first archmage.”
“Who knows? Perhaps, the first archmage tried to build a magic tower here, but they failed for some reason.”
It was highly likely that it was a magic tower. There was a strong energy coming out of the tower that they had never experienced before. Not only Shin Sung-Hyun, but even Milphage showed caution while gulping a mouthful of his own saliva.
“That’s not the aura of the bees that Halo talked about, is it?”
“Well, it’s a type of insect, but it’s from beyond a Gate. We shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”
All of a sudden, Kiora, who had been squatting for a long time, stood up and said, “Most importantly, the ecosystem here is rather unique.”
She rummaged through the trees and flowers around her with her sword. There were plants and insects that she had never seen before. It was as if they really had come into a Gate.
“Did those bees come together when they crossed over from a Gate?”
“After hundreds of years of quarantine, it has become a completely separate ecosystem.”
After a brief examination, they found no factors that could pose a risk. Amidst an awkward atmosphere, the guild members of Goblin and Hallem began to create a base camp.
Shin Sung-Hyun asked, “Do you have any separate plans of your own?”
“We do,” Milphage said, banging his palm with his fist. “We decided that the five of us will be the scouts, we’ll take advantage of my previous experience in Gates.”
“It’s a bit similar to our plan.”
There seemed to be a separate team for reconnaissance in the Goblin Guild. At a glance, Gong Ju-Ha and Ha In-Ho were already warming up. .
“The destination will be the same, so let’s just divide the route. We’ll go to the left.”
“Hmm, then we’ll take the right?”
The distance to the tower was about ten kilometers. It was a short distance that ordinary people could walk in two hours.
“We’ll be back in six hours.”
“That’s reasonable…” Shin Sung-Hyun nodded lightly.
That would be enough time to figure out what monsters and threats there were.
“Let’s go, 250 billion.”
Milphage fearlessly strode ahead.
***
“This is weird.” Two hours after the reconnaissance, Milphage voiced everyone’s thoughts. “It’s so weird. There’s nothing, surprisingly enough.”
It was just as he said. There hadn’t been a single monster in the past two hours. At best, all they found were little bugs crawling on the ground. Even though the forest was so dense, they couldn’t hear the chirping of birds at all.
“We’re in trouble,” Kiora murmured, biting her lips slightly.
In fact, reconnaissance had surprisingly fixed results like mathematics. If you properly responded to a given situation, a clear answer would emerge. However, there was only one answer before them.
“I can feel the presence of small animals in the forest. But…” Milphage frowned. “Everyone is hiding like mice.”
There was only one fact to be known here. The creatures in the forest were very afraid of those monsters they called ‘bees.’
“And we know of at least one more thing,” Milphage said, looking at the flowers and trees in the forest. “The bees are probably not peaceful creatures that collect honey.”
“It probably collects human blood rather than honey. Leader, you saw the victim’s body, too. It was as dry as a mummy,” said Verdo the healer as he recalled a body reminiscent of a mummy.
“What shall we do, then?” asked Milphage, turning around.
“We still have about four hours until we have to go back… I think we should at least go near the tower to find out more.”
“We don’t have to necessarily stick to that time. I think it’d be better to get one more piece of usable information,” said Gardo, the archer.
Verdo and Kiora nodded in agreement.
“Hmm, what do you think about this?” asked Milphage.
“I think it’d be better to go a little further as well. We have enough food, and the base camp is in a much safer position than us, so we don’t need to worry about it,” Seo Jun-Ho replied.
“Good! I like your decisiveness. Let’s continue!”
They continued to walk through the forest. They were moving much faster than before because they had realized that there were no bees near the forest from their past two hours of experience.
“There! That’s the magic tower.” Milphage pushed the vine and looked. “It wasn’t that obvious from afar, but from up close, it’s bigger than I thought.”
The size and height of the magic tower, which was only a hundred meters away, were considerable. The building—reminiscent of the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, had a total of ten floors.
“Leader, I can feel a dangerous aura from above.”
“To be exact, it’s getting stronger as we go up.”
“Tssp.”
Kiora licked her dry mouth. They felt a dangerous aura that made them raise their guards up. Then, all of the hair on Seo Jun-Ho’s body stood on end.
‘Keep my guard up…? But why?’
The moment he questioned the intense warning from his instincts—
“Aaaahhh!”
A horrible scream tore through Blackfield. The sound came from the front, near the tower.