Raided The God’S Warehouse [EN]: Chapter 122

126.

-Welcome to the 10th floor trial.

-Theme: Approaching Sandstorm

-You have completed the exploration of the ruins and arrived in ‘Skave,’ the largest city in the desert.

-‘Skave’ is a city that extremely dislikes visits from outsiders.

-You have been granted permission to visit ‘Skave’ on the condition that you cooperate in defending against the approaching sandstorm.

-You are currently affiliated with the ‘Diablo Clan.’

-The countdown will begin when all members of the Diablo Clan arrive, or when the clan leader signals the start.

As expected, the 10th floor trial was a group trial.

The trial only mentions a sandstorm, but the sandstorm here was not just a natural disaster.

It was a collective term for the numerous monsters that surged in with the sandstorm.

“Seun, this is…….”

“You know what the trial is, right?”

“Yes. It means we have to defend this place, right?”

“That’s right.”

Seun and Yuseo-ah were standing on top of a massive fortress wall.

It seemed quite sturdy for something built on sand, and there were various siege weapons around.

Those were all weapons to defend the fortress wall from monsters, not people.

Besides that, many soldiers were guarding the fortress wall, standing watch or maintaining the weapons.

They were wearing leather armor with white cloths wrapped around them, which seemed suitable for an environment with swirling sandstorms.

As Yuseo-ah looked around curiously, a soldier was seen approaching them.

“Are you the ones? Tch, look at you. People traveling in the desert without even covering your noses. Is that cloak just for show?”

“Uh, us?”

“Am I talking to someone else? Are there any other people here wearing such strange clothes besides you?”

The soldier, who spoke in a folksy dialect, also had a white cloth wrapped around his mouth and nose like a scarf.

Even though only his eyes were visible, it was easy to tell that he was annoyed.

Was it because it was the first time having a conversation with a resident during a trial, rather than at a rest stop?

Yuseo-ah couldn’t answer right away and was at a loss for what to do.

“Even if we’re short on manpower, what are they thinking, bringing in outsiders? Haa. Can you at least shoot a bow?”

Looking around, most of the soldiers on the fortress wall, including the soldier in front of them, had a bow slung over their backs.

It seemed that the main weapon here was the bow.

Indeed, with such a sturdy fortress wall, it would be much more efficient to shoot arrows from the wall than to go out with spears and swords.

“If you don’t know how to use a bow, don’t do anything and just help with chores in the back. Don’t get in the way.”

As the trial’s description indicated, the people here do not welcome outsiders. That dismissive tone was also because of that.

However, this trial wasn’t something that could be accomplished simply by the clans working together. Since the goal was to defend the fortress wall, they needed to work well with these people to achieve greater efficiency.

So, if they were being ignored from the start, it would be impossible to achieve a good record.

“I can handle a bow.”

“What, where did you get that?”

Seun took out a bow from his subspace pocket.

Dragon Fang Bow (龍牙弓).

It was one of the weapons Go Chang-seok had made for Seun.

The bow was sturdy yet flexible, and the bowstring was made from the tendons of a Sea Drake, making it incredibly taut.

It was made specifically for Seun, so it required tremendous strength to draw the string, but in return, it boasted incredible power and range.

The arrows used with it were the same.

About 50 arrows, each meticulously crafted by Go Chang-seok, were in his subspace pocket.

“It’s not a supply item, and it looks like a valuable bow. Did you find it in the ruins?”

Ignoring the soldier’s question, Seun nocked an arrow and took aim.

He focused on the ‘Monarch Eagle’s Single Eye’ to enhance his vision.

A cactus bulging between the winding sand dunes came into view.

The more he focused on his vision, the larger the cactus seemed to grow.

“What are you aiming at? Surely not that cactus? Come on, what a bluff. It’s over 1,000m away, how are you going to hit that?”

The soldier raised his voice in disbelief, and the gazes of the surrounding soldiers focused on Seun.

This commotion was actually welcome. With this one attack, he could demonstrate his power to many people.

-Through internal energy, ‘Grad Empire’s Martial Art’ is enhanced.

-Temporarily, the elasticity and durability of ‘Dragon Fang Bow’ are greatly increased.

Creak!

As internal energy imbued it, the bow glowed red.

As the elasticity increased, Seun put even more strength into his shoulder, pulling the bowstring back forcefully.

He applied so much force that the arrowhead was right in front of the bow, and the bow screamed that it couldn’t handle any more.

“I get it, so stop. If you overdo it, that good bow might break…….”

The limit was reached, focus was added, and the moment he felt confident in the hand holding the arrow.

Thwiiing-

Seun released the bowstring.

Naturally, the soldiers’ gazes followed the arrow into the air.

For destructive power, imbuing magic would be the best, but what he was going to show now was simple archery, not magic.

The arrow, without any magical augmentation, sharply cut through the wind.

It didn’t draw a parabola.

The arrow rudely split the wind and flew straight ahead.

The soldiers, who had been handling bows for months or even decades while guarding the fortress wall, were wide-eyed at this unbelievable sight.

The arrow was already out of sight.

Just when they wondered how they would confirm the result.

Boom!

The body of the cactus, which had been leisurely enjoying photosynthesis far away, exploded.

It wasn’t that the arrow had pierced the target or passed through it, but it had literally exploded. It couldn’t withstand the power contained in the arrow.

The soldiers who watched this couldn’t even utter exclamations and widened their eyes.

Their jaws were so wide open that one might suspect their temporomandibular joint had dislocated.

The soldier had estimated the distance to the cactus to be 1,000m, but it was actually closer to 1,500m.

It was such a long distance that it would have been difficult to see with the naked eye if the visibility hadn’t been particularly good that day.

Even to the average person, this was not ordinary skill.

The eyes of the soldiers, which had been full of disdain due to their prejudice against outsiders, were now filled with respect.

Sand City, Skave.

Although it was a place that rejected outsiders, they fundamentally had respect for great power, as they faced monsters in the harsh desert.

“I, I’m sorry! I have committed a discourtesy. No, I have!”

The soldier, who had been looking at Seun with disdainful eyes just a moment ago, bowed deeply.

As Seun didn’t react, the soldier was sweating profusely and couldn’t bring himself to look up.

At that moment, a woman who had been watching this scene from afar approached.

Her attire was not much different from the other soldiers, but the difference was that she wore a red cloth, unlike the white cloths of the ordinary soldiers.

Although it was the first time Seun had spoken to her, it was a face he had seen before his regression.

“My subordinate has committed a rudeness. Please forgive him.”

The fortress wall of Skave is largely divided into four sections.

Among them, the place where Seun and Yuseo-ah were now was the south gate.

She was the commander in charge of the soldiers at this south gate.

“I would like to have a conversation. Would that be alright?”

Her coming meant that Seun’s power had already been proven.

Soon, Seun nodded.

Although the clan members had not yet arrived and the countdown had not yet begun, the trial had already begun for Seun.

* * *

“Please, have a seat over here.”

“Ah, yes. Thank you.”

Yuseo-ah answered on behalf of Seun and sat down.

The place she led them to was the most central and towering part of the south gate’s fortress wall, which seemed to be a kind of command center.

The room felt quite antique thanks to the carpet with a red base and gold patterns on the floor.

“First, let me introduce myself. I am Yasha, currently in charge of the south gate of Skave.”

“I’m Yuseo-ah.”

“Jeong Seun.”

“I heard that you arrived here while exploring the ruins, is that correct?”

“Ah, yes. We…….”

“You didn’t call us here to investigate our backgrounds, did you?”

Seun drew a line at her question.

The two of them had arrived here according to the system’s guidance, so if they delved too deeply, they would have to come up with hastily made excuses.

If she sensed anything suspicious, the trust built with force might be shaken.

So, it was more advantageous to be firm here.

Yuseo-ah looked flustered, but Seun’s attitude did not change.

After a brief staring contest, Yasha soon lowered her head and let out a small breath.

“Then, without further ado, I will get straight to the point.”

What was she going to say to be so formal?

Yuseo-ah leaned in to listen to her words, but Seun seemed to know roughly what she was going to say.

The clan Seun had participated in before his regression had also received that request.

Of course, they had failed because they had been recognized for their skills too late, and there wasn’t enough time to fulfill the request.

“I would like to request an investigation into the source of the sandstorm.”

“The source of the sandstorm? Do you know its location?”

Yuseo-ah asked back with sparkling eyes.

Seun simply nodded silently beside her. As expected, the content of the request was the same as what he had heard as a rumor before his regression.

“Yes, since it has been a periodic natural disaster for the past hundreds of years, most of the information about the sandstorm has been revealed.”

“Then why are you trying to investigate it?”

“Recently, suspicious information has been coming in.”

“Suspicious information, you mean…….”

“The heat around the area known as the source of the sandstorm is increasing, and the haze has become so severe that it is difficult to determine the direction.”

“…….”

“In addition, the damage range is increasing compared to before, and the number of missing people is gradually increasing. Perhaps, we are worried that the aftermath will lead to a sandstorm.”

“So you want us to investigate that.”

“That’s right.”

Seun nodded.

This trial was not about defending against the ordinary sandstorm that the sand city of Skave always experienced.

If that were the case, the soldiers would have blocked the attack on their own without the need for players to help.

The reason this trial was a trial was because of the anomaly she was talking about.

“Are you asking us because we are outsiders?”

Yuseo-ah pointed out sharply.

It was a request that looked dangerous at first glance, with the number of missing people increasing and the heat increasing.

However, it was also a very important task to prepare for the next attack.

To ask outsiders to do such a thing. It seemed like they were asking outsiders because it was too dangerous to send their own soldiers.

“……That’s right.”

Yasha did not make excuses.

Rather, that appearance was more trustworthy.

“And it is difficult for our forces to spare the personnel to investigate the source right now. I reported it to the higher-ups, but they dismissed it as a trivial matter.”

“Hmm…….”

“However, it is by no means a light request. As the person in charge of the south gate, I am making this request at the risk of my position.”

From then on, it was time for Seun and Yuseo-ah to choose.

She didn’t make excuses, and it was a request, not an order.

“If you need time, I will leave you alone for a while.”

She got up from her seat.

Yuseo-ah met Seun’s eyes as if entrusting the decision to him.

However, Seun had already decided on the answer to her request since he entered this room.

“I accept.”

“……Really?”

“But.”

Seun got up from his seat.