Raided The God’S Warehouse [EN]: Chapter 186

190

As I moved to the next floor, I felt intense heat prickling my skin.

Inhaling, the heat seared my throat and warmed my lungs.

Taking a calm, deep breath and opening my eyes, the first thing I saw was cracked land, as if ravaged by a drought.

There wasn’t a single rock in sight, and ash falling from the sky obscured the sun, making the surroundings dark despite the lack of clouds.

And finally, far in the distance.

At the edge of my vision, I saw an active volcano spewing black smoke.

– Welcome to the 21st floor trial.

– Theme: Shaking Earth

– Time Limit: 24 hours

– You have arrived in a volcanic zone where intense heat stimulates the skin.

– Advance towards the volcano with your companion and escape the unstable earth.

The 21st floor trial.

The trials from the 21st to 30th floors involve navigating natural phenomena, trials known as natural disasters.

The difficulty is significantly higher than the trials at the beginning of the tower, which simply involved crossing rivers and climbing mountains.

The theme of the first trial is Shaking Earth.

As the description says to escape the ‘unstable earth,’ the disaster of this trial is…

Kugugugu!

An earthquake.

‘This was a section where I could freely use the Guidebook of the Journey.’

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get help from the Guidebook of the Journey right now.

The Guidebook of the Journey, which had been reset through regression, hadn’t returned even after time had passed.

I thought it might be a penalty for using Chronos’ Hourglass [a mythical artifact that can rewind time].

‘More than that, a companion.’

Even if it were someone else, it would be better for Seun to proceed with the trial alone.

In the Diablo Clan, Yuseo-ah was the only one who could keep up with Seun’s speed.

No, Park Jung-pil had grown a lot recently, too.

‘Still, not that guy.’

Of course, this theme wouldn’t end with just one floor.

To be with Park Jung-pil for several floors like that…

The thought alone made me dizzy.

I wondered if it would be more comfortable to knock him unconscious and drag him around so he couldn’t say anything.

After a moment, a ‘companion’ appeared next to Seun in a flash of white light.

As soon as he saw the figure, Seun cursed.

“Damn…”

“Ugh, it’s hot. Huh? Hyungniiiiim!”

Of all people, it was that guy.

* * *

“Wow, I lived! I was so nervous that the little kid might get caught again this time!”

“Haa…”

Little kid.

He probably meant Han Areum.

If Han Areum had been chosen as a companion, I could have at least carried her on my back.

‘Should I really knock him out?’

I thought about the plan I had jokingly considered again.

Of course, if I were just going to quickly pass one trial, that might be more comfortable, but I couldn’t do that.

I couldn’t keep carrying him on my back for several floors.

Kugugu-

While I was hesitating, the vibration of the earth grew even stronger.

“Follow me.”

“Yes!”

Perhaps because of the harsh ‘education’ and ‘training’ he had been repeating recently, he followed Seun without asking questions.

Besides, Park Jung-pil is the fastest runner in the Diablo Clan after Yuseo-ah.

His evasion skills are also excellent, so he won’t fall behind or be hit by environmental hazards caused by the earthquake.

It was a blessing in disguise?

‘If he gets in the way later, I’ll really have to knock him out.’

I hoped that such a situation wouldn’t arise.

Kugugugu!

“Uwaaah! Hyungnim, be careful! The ground is wriggling!”

“I’ll leave you behind if you’re late, so keep up.”

“L, let’s go together! Hyungniiim!”

Looking at the twisting earth, I immediately moved my legs.

The spot where I had been standing a moment ago was grotesquely distorted and cracked open, trembling as if regretting missing its prey.

It was not unreasonable for your ankle to be crushed if you stepped on what you thought was an empty space and the space suddenly narrowed.

If Yuseo-ah’s footwork was like a well-honed technique learned from Seun, Park Jung-pil’s footwork was like watching a puppy running around in a hurry.

He screamed, ‘Uwaaah!’ as he jumped over the splitting ground or dodged rocks that suddenly popped out, rolling on the floor.

It was funny to watch, but the amazing thing was that he was perfectly avoiding all those hazards.

– The constellation, ‘Donkey-Headed Snatcher,’ points at the contractor and laughs loudly, telling him to look at that sight.

Confirming that he was keeping up, Seun increased his speed.

– Through inner energy [cultivation energy], the movement of Chosangbi becomes even faster.

Thanks to Chosangbi, which had become familiar after passing through swamps and snowfields, Seun’s steps were as fast as the wind.

As unstable as the earth was, there was also a way to spread Icarus’ Wings [magical wings], but that consumed too much mana [magical energy].

The destination of this trial was quite far, so it was impossible to move to the destination by flying.

If I carried Park Jung-pil with me, the mana consumption would jump not only twice but three or four times.

– The constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ busily looks around for something to eat.

Beelzebub was making a fuss, but the trials up to the 30th floor were mostly about testing the player’s survival skills through natural disasters.

It wasn’t a trial centered around monsters like the swamp.

That being said, monsters would occasionally appear, but they wouldn’t feed him as much as before.

Of course.

‘If you look for it, there are quite a few ‘special meals’ too.’

This is a unique trial, so there are unique monsters.

For example, monsters in a similar position to the ‘antlion’ I encountered in the desert trial.

However, the problem was that I couldn’t know its location without the Guidebook of the Journey, but at least as far as the monster Seun was aiming for now, there was no need to worry about that.

Kugugugu-

Unlike the antlion, the monsters here were the type to openly reveal themselves.

“Geeeeeeee-!!”

Far away, the unusually shaking earth exploded as if an explosion had occurred.

A monster made of earth appeared from within.

“H, Hyungnim! Look at that! Isn’t the level of monsters getting ridiculously stronger? That’s not just a beast, it’s a mega-beast!”

Volcanic golem.

It was the boss monster here.

Of course, even though it was a boss monster, there was no need to hunt it.

The setting was that it would stay fixed in that spot, shaking the earth and causing earthquakes.

Unless you got close to it, you wouldn’t be directly attacked.

Although you had to go around a bit, the intensity of the earthquake would decrease if you moved as far away from it as possible.

Looking at it, Seun immediately changed direction.

“H, Hyungnim? Where are you going?”

Not in the opposite direction, but in the direction where the Volcanic Golem had risen.

– The constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ packs his tableware, saying he knew he could trust you.

– The constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ is looking forward to what kind of food it will taste like this time.

– The constellation, ‘Donkey-Headed Snatcher,’ cannot help but laugh as he watches the contractor in a panic.

“J, just a moment. Hyungnim! Think again! That’s ridiculous!”

“Then go separately by yourself.”

“Ah, that’s a bit! Ah, ah! I understand, so let’s go a little slower!”

The Volcanic Golem, visible in the distance, began to tear at the ground in earnest.

It lifted both hands high and slammed them down, or twisted its body to distort the surrounding earth.

The rough earthquakes occurred around it and spread quickly.

Jjeok!

Kugugugu!

The ground suddenly popped out, or huge scars appeared.

If you let your guard down even a little, your body would be pierced or you would fall into the abyss.

It was not unreasonable for your ankle to be crushed if you stepped on what you thought was an empty space and the space suddenly narrowed.

“Geeeeeeee-!!”

Kuuung!

As the golem struck the ground, a huge stone wall popped out in front of Seun.

It seemed like a silent pressure not to approach him any further.

There was no gap to escape, and the height was ridiculously high to jump over, but Seun had no intention of going around in the first place.

Seun drew Durendal [his sword].

If there is no way, just make one.

There was no need to go all the way around when there was a shortcut right in front of me.

– Through inner energy, the sixth form of the Taesan Eighteen Swordsmanship, Taesan Yangbun (泰山兩分) [Splitting Mount Taesan], is enhanced.

– According to the mysteries of the Breaking Heart Skill, the power of martial arts is enhanced.

If the fifth form of the Taesan Eighteen Swordsmanship, Taesan Apjeong [Pressing Down on Mount Taesan], had the power to press down on the mountain, then the next form, Taesan Yangbun, was an upward slash with the power to split Taesan in two.

Because it was a greatsword that placed extreme importance on power, it was a swordsmanship that was impossible to perform without superhuman strength beyond human limits before inner energy.

It was a form that I was able to use thanks to the greatly amplified strength by using the ‘Black Ogre’s Tendon’ recently.

Kwagwagwagwa!

It wasn’t a cutting sound.

With rough and crude sound effects, as if firing cannons at a cliff, the stone wall cracked open to both sides.

It wasn’t just the stone wall that was like that, but the ground in front of Seun was also deeply dug in.

A scar created solely by swordsmanship, not an earthquake.

Through it, I met the red eyes of the Volcanic Golem.

“Geeeeeeee-!!”

The same cry as the first time, without a single change in tone, as befitting a golem.

Perhaps that was not a sound being uttered through intelligence, but simply a tone inputted to drive away intruders.

It was a noise that was deafening, but I ignored it and ran towards the gap I had just created.

Kung, Kugukung!

Stone pillars rose from all sides.

As if proving the name Volcanic Golem, the stone pillars were not just simple stones but contained red lava.

While the intense heat stung my skin as if it would cook it, Seun ran firmly towards the golem.

Since the distance was quite far, many stone pillars were created in the meantime.

The floor was already impossible to step on due to the lava flowing down from the stone pillars.

There were dense stone pillars blocking the way, but it was too wasteful to destroy them all.

Thinking so, Seun felt the vibration of the floor and ran diagonally.

Then…

Kugugugu!

The floor where Seun was standing rose sharply. He had predicted the location where the stone pillars would rise and taken his position.

The golem noticed this and stopped the stone pillars, but it was already too late.

Seun stepped on the stone pillars in front of him like stepping stones and approached him.

‘Was the Volcanic Golem’s weakness water?’

As befitting a golem, he was a monster with tremendous resistance to physical attacks.

Just like when I faced the Ice Golem before, if I poked at the gaps, I would rather allow a counterattack with lava erupting through them.

Then, a new weapon I had recently obtained came to mind.

‘It’s the first debut.’

Seun drew the chillingly cold ice bow, the Undying Bow.

I had used it as a demonstration in the ice lake before, but that was only for practice or confirmation.

This was the first time using it in actual combat.

Geudeudeuk!

Pulling the bowstring with all my might, I jumped up from my spot.

The golem aimed at Seun and threw red boulders like a catapult, but it was useless.

This was because Icarus’ Wings fluttered and guided Seun to a higher place.

– The Vault of Greed has been opened.

[ Wriggling Bow, Nokha ]

– A treasure passed down through generations to the Nagarajas [snake deities], the kings who rule the Nagas [serpentine beings], who are called the half-human, half-snake race.

Moisture swirled around the Undying Bow.

The power of Nagaraja’s bow, Nokha, was imbued in the Undying Bow, creating a water arrow that wriggled like a snake instead of the usual ice arrow.

From here, there was no need to worry any further.

I simply released the arrow that was wriggling as if it wanted to devour its prey right away.

Pyiung-

The water arrow, shot almost perpendicularly from the air.

It increased in size as it went down, taking on the shape of a giant sea serpent.

The sight was like watching an Imoogi [a proto-dragon] who had failed to ascend and was falling to the ground.

The Imoogi found an existence to unleash its anger at not becoming a dragon.

Kyaaaak-!

It opened its ferocious mouth and revealed the rough whirlpool existing inside its throat.

The golem crossed its arms and lowered its posture to block the attack, but it was useless.