Chapter 74
From Zeus, Seo Gangrim received 'Hers' Shoes,' an item that increases agility, jump height, and airti, making it a valuable piece of equipnt. It was quite a sought-after item, especially if one weren't from Zeus's camp.
Seo Gangrim knew that if he asked for an item of too high a grade, it would likely be rejected, so he asked for a second-rate item, but he ended up with the Hers' Shoes, which was of the dragon grade. It seed like they wanted to impress soone.
The tension between Jang Taeheon and the twin siblings, who opposed each other due to the ambitions of Liu Bei and Zeus, wasn't pleasant, but Seo Gangrim liked the situation where the gods were keeping each other in check. After all, with that situation, they'd have to give him sothing better than what the other party had given.
Liu Bei initially gave Seo Gangrim an item called 'Elixir of Life.' It was an item that permanently increases health when consud. Since the imdiate effect after consumption was excellent, he decided to save it for later. It was a good item, but secretly, Seo Gangrim felt sowhat disappointed. So, he casually ntioned that he received a dragon-grade item from Zeus. That seed to spur Liu Bei on, and he quickly sent another item.
Seo Gangrim held an old book to the sky.
[You have obtained the item 'Book of Perseverance'!]
The Book of Perseverance, a spellbook that greatly increased magical power when read, was also a Dragon Third-class item, which was quite fortunate. With this, Seo Gangrim thought he would be able to clear the final stage without any problems, provided nothing unexpected happened.
-Kwaang!
At that mont, a sound of soone striking the door was heard. There were no remaining trainees, so who could it be? Annaby? It didn't seem like Annaby's usual behavior.
When Seo Gangrim opened the door, he found sothing other than a person. An arrow was stuck in the door, but it wasn't a real arrow. It was a 'Temporal Arrow,' an arrow made of psychic energy that could send ssages regardless of the living world, the Demon World, or the underworld. Seo Gangrim couldn't tell who had sent it, so he needed to check it. As he pulled out the arrow, a window appeared before his eyes.
[A ssage from ■■■ has arrived.]
The na was anonymized, so Seo Gangrim couldn't tell who the sender was. Usually, the only ones who would send ssages were agent of the bureau, but they did not need to use 'Temporal Arrows' for that, as they were quite expensive to use.
Seo Gangrim opened the ssage with suspicion.
"..."
As soon as he saw the ssage, he was speechless. It was a single picture. More precisely, it was a picture of a blood-covered Shin Sooah.
Was it a fake? No, it wasn't. Judging by the background, it was inside the Seventh Stage. There was nothing else in the ssage, only that one picture. Seo Gangrim couldn't fathom why Shin Sooah was in such a predicant. Did she get hurt by a demon? But what concerned Seo Gangrim more was the sender. Who, why, and for what purpose would soone send such a picture?
"..."
Anyway, it was clear that Shin Sooah was in trouble. Unfortunately, it was hard to distinguish whether she would be in even more trouble if Seo Gangrim went in or not. He pressed his lips tightly and fell into deep thought. Then he entered his room.
"Hey, wake up."
"Woong..."
"Kyaaah..."
The youngins were still half-asleep and protested, but Seo Gangrim didn't have ti to indulge them. He quickly took them to the lobby, towards the seventh door which had nurous drawings of saws on it.
'Should I enter now? Or would it be better to wait?'
There were many questions, but there was no one to answer them. Seo Gangrim took a short breath and opened the door to the last stage.
[The Room of Geohae has begun.]
[Find your own plaque and return to the training facility.]
[No ti limit.]
When he opened the portal and stepped inside, he was greeted with a very different scene than the ones he had visited before. This place was inside a building. To be precise, it resembled the interior of an old palace. The door led to the main hall of the palace. It was a place where, in historical dramas, the king would sit, and his courtiers would stand, presenting their requests. It was a space filled with grandeur, but its current state was different. It looked as if a group of thieves had visited, as the surroundings were ssy, and there were scattered bloodstains everywhere. Linnie also sensed an ominous presence and stood with her fur bristling.
【Yay yay, Gangrim has arrived!】
【Wow, this guy finally made it.】
【He's definitely going to receive divine blessing today.】
【Why are you so late? Did sothing happen?】
【Is that the dragon Steel? Wow, you've really tad it.】
The voices of the gods were overwhelming. Under normal circumstances, he would ignore them, but the situation was urgent. He looked up at the obstructed ceiling of the palace and asked, "Do any of you know where Shin Sooah is?"
【Is that the first thing you ask as soon as you arrive?】
【Why should we tell you?】
【We'll tell you once you receive divine blessing.】
【But shouldn't you worry about yourself first? Look, you have saw all over your body.】
【You should check your own body first.】
Seo Gangrim already knew that devices were attached to him. When he examined his reflection in the blade, he could see devices on his neck, wrists, and ankles. At first glance, they looked like shackles or a dog collar, but inside, there were sharp saw blades arranged in a circle. They hadn't touched his flesh yet, and the blades weren't exposed, but given enough ti, the situation would change.
[You have equipped the item 'Geohae's Shackle!']
[The effect will activate at specified tis!]
[It progresses in a total of 7 stages!]
The na of this item was Geohae's Shackle. As the item description stated, the saw blade would start to operate slightly and protrude each ti the designated ti ca. In other words, after seven stages, Seo Gangrim's neck and limbs would be severed.
【Why did it have to be the neck? Your luck has no limits.】
【Yeah, if it were any other body part, it might have been better.】
【It's not just the neck! How can you fight when all your limbs are cut off?】
【Turn the crisis into an opportunity! Gangrim, receive divine blessing and escape!】
'Did these guys only know how to talk about divine blessing?'
Seo Gangrim glared at the ceiling once and then shifted his gaze. In any case, he had expected that Geohae's Shackle would be attached to his neck. What was important now was not that. He began to search the palace.
【Oh dear, this kid. Look at how flustered he is.】
【Flustered? He's panicking.】
【Have you found your plaque?】
【Let's find the plaque. It might unexpectedly be nearby.】
In this room, there were plaque tags with the nas of each trainee, and finding one's own plaque was necessary to exit this stage. But he didn't intend to search for his plaque right away. First, he needed to find Shin Sooah.
Exiting this room and moving on to the next was his initial plan. The problem was the direction. There was a door in all four directions of the palace, but this couldn't be the original layout of a palace. This place was like a labyrinth, and the starting point changed depending on the entry point, making it challenging to morize the map for escape.
The situation was a bit different from back then; the structure of this place was different from his previous life. The room he entered in his previous life was an armory.
There were so many rooms that he didn't know exactly how to navigate them.
【Which way should we go, Gangrim?】
【Gangrim, go north!】
【Hey, this god is really confusing people. It's the east, east.】
Since it was the last stage, there seed to be more gods present than usual. So were friendly toward Seo Gangrim, while others were not. But none of them seed inclined to tell him about Shin Sooah's whereabouts.
It had been quite so ti since they entered, so it would be challenging to track their traces. Nevertheless, with a glimr of hope, he continued to search the vicinity, until he discovered sothing near the door to the west.
X.
It looked like soone had carved it with a knife. The distinct X mark was vaguely familiar. When Shin Sooah progressed through this stage, she used to leave marks at crossroads, just in case soone ca after her to prevent them from getting lost. Given her personality, it was highly likely that she had left marks this ti too. Examining the other doors, Seo Gangrim found similar marks on them.
East. X.
West. X.
North. X.
All three directions had X marks, seemingly indicating that it was not advisable to go this way or that it was dangerous.
【Did you find what Shin Sooah left behind?】
【Did you hear about it in advance?】
【I guess Shin Sooah is fooling you!】
Seo Gangrim still wasn't sure what the X mark ant, but for now, he interpreted it as a sign that they haven't gone this way. He approached the southern door to find more traces, and there, too, a mark was carved with a knife. It was a clear X mark.
【They're all X marks, what should you do?】
【Gangrim had a hard ti, didn't he?】
【Did you fall for Shin Sooah's trap?】
【Since they're all marked with X, go wherever you want.】
Seo Gangrim walked while listening to the gods' chatter. In the center of the main hall, there was a partially destroyed platform. As he stepped onto it, the gods reacted with surprise.
【Why is this guy stepping on the platform?】
【He's not even sitting, what is he doing?】
He held onto a pillar and went up. Then, he lifted the canopy that covered the top of the platform. When he looked up, he saw a mark on the ceiling.
O.
Seo Gangrim pushed up the ceiling with the hilt of his sword, and the door opened with a creak.
【He did it in one go?】
【So people can't find it all day.】
【Wow, are you a detective?】
【His na is Detective Gangrim!】
As they said, Seo Gangrim had faced quite a bit of trouble finding his way in his previous life. He didn't think there would be a path on the ceiling and the floor. He crawled up and called his two spirits.
"Both of you, co up here."
"Woong!"
Linnie effortlessly soared through the air and landed next to Seo Gangrim. However, Yorn glared at him with a lot of annoyance.
"Grrrr..."
"You can't fly yet, can you?"
Seo Gangrim had been training him, but he still had a long way to go. After descending and lifting Yorn, Seo Gangrim climbed up again.
In this place, there was a strong scent of old books. He didn't know the palace's structure, but it seed to be a place for storing books. Nurous books were scattered on the floor, and the cabinets were all broken, likely due to chaotic search for plaques. His plaque might be in here sowhere, but first he found the next door.
【Are you not looking for your plaque?】
【You seem busy finding people.】
【Why do you want to find the kids?】
The door with an O mark was to the east. After passing through several rooms and doors with marks, he opened a door on the floor this ti. As soon as he opened it, he felt soone's presence.
"What, what is it?"
It seed like the other party had also noticed his presence. When he looked down, several people were gathered, but they weren't from Zone Two. Among them, there were vaguely familiar faces.
A woman looked at him with surprised eyes and said, "Are you... Seo Gangrim?"
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