Raided The God’S Warehouse [EN]: Chapter 199

203

I closed my eyes, then opened them, and the environment around me had changed as if it were a conjured illusion.

Looking around, the environment was similar to the forest I’d seen on the 25th floor.

There was no smog, but the black clouds and ash piled on the leaves prevented photosynthesis, causing the grass and trees to wither.

All the animals seemed to have fled, and I couldn’t detect a single sign of life, giving the place an eerie feeling.

Only two beings existed here: Seun and…

– Welcome to the 26th floor trial.

– Theme: Rescue the Baby Bird

– While escaping the forest, you discover a baby bird that hasn’t yet learned to fly.

– Feeling sorry for it, you decide to take the baby bird out of the forest.

“Chirp?”

A small bird tilting its head in Seun’s arms was the only other presence.

‘Seeing trials like this, it really feels like they’re created based on someone’s personal experiences.’

Rescue the baby bird.

It was a surprisingly gentle trial to present to players who were fighting for their lives.

Of course, that didn’t mean this trial was easy.

Unlike the previous trials where you just had to collide with your body or your companions, this trial had a protected target: the baby bird.

As you can see, the baby bird had no combat power, so even a little carelessness could cause serious injury.

In terms of difficulty alone, it was one of the more challenging trials.

‘The time limit is gradually disappearing.’

Well, from now on, time limits made most of the trials meaningless.

Succeeding quickly would increase the contribution points earned as a reward, but the process was more influential than the time.

The same goes for the 26th floor trial.

Honestly, time and everything else were almost irrelevant for the trials here.

“Chirp, chirp! Chirp!”

While Seun was preparing for the trial, the baby bird chirped diligently towards the opposite side. It was as if it was warning Seun of danger.

When I turned my head in the direction the baby bird was looking, the fire demon, heralding the trial of the 26th floor, began to rise.

Whirr!

The tree, which had been dying from lack of sunlight, burned pitifully.

Because it wasn’t properly supplied with moisture and was withered, the fire quickly grew in size and devoured the forest.

This was the real challenge of this trial.

Just like on the 21st floor, the theme was still a natural disaster. In this trial’s case, it could be called a ‘forest fire’.

The fire was approaching quickly, and the baby bird’s body was as weak as fluff.

It was obvious that it shouldn’t touch the fire, and it was dangerous to inhale the smoke; it could even die if exposed to the heat for too long.

“Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!”

The baby bird touched Seun’s arm with its small beak. It seemed to be urging him, asking why he wasn’t running away.

The forest fire that started at the edge of my vision was already right in front of him, radiating intense heat.

‘I had a hard time back then.’

Before the regression [reincarnation], I ran straight away without even having time to admire the baby bird.

Since it was a trial to escape from the forest fire anyway, I ran until my breath reached the tip of my chin, following the journey’s guide [a walkthrough or map].

However, there was no need to do that now.

Seun raised his hand towards the side where the forest fire was raging and rotated the circle around his heart [his mana core].

– The Treasury of Greed has been opened.

[Flash Flood]

– A large-scale magic of the Blue Tower that creates a huge amount of water like a sudden flood to sweep away enemies.

Whoosh!

Flash Flood.

True to its name, a flood occurred in front of Seun.

The scene of water gushing out from the ground, which was covered with ash, was incredibly surreal.

“Chirp……?”

As a 6th circle magic, mana drained quickly from the circle.

A battle between the fire demon and the water demon.

The forest fire, which was trying to devour everything in the forest, resisted fiercely, but it was useless in front of Flash Flood.

Not only was it at a disadvantage in terms of attributes, but as the flood soaked the nearby land and trees, the forest fire, which had nothing more to burn, gradually subsided.

It consumed a lot of mana, but thanks to that, the forest fire was extinguished neatly.

There was no need to run away. He just had to take the baby bird to his destination with ease.

This was the power of 6th circle magic.

It was proof that Seun’s realm had easily surpassed the trial of the 26th floor.

– Hidden quest, ‘Forest Fire Suppression’ has been completed.

– Additional points are awarded to the ‘Baby Bird Rescue’ trial.

‘I guess this is also recognized as a hidden piece [secret objective].’

It was a hidden piece that I couldn’t find with the journey’s guide. No, even if I could find it, Seun before the regression didn’t have the ability to put out the forest fire.

“Chirp…….”

“Were you very surprised?”

“Chirp!”

I gently stroked the head of the baby bird flapping its small wings. It was so small that I had to stroke it carefully with two fingers instead of my palm.

“Then, shall we go?”

Seun moved his legs leisurely.

Of course, before the regression, I couldn’t properly use the journey’s guide because I was being chased by the forest fire.

Naturally, there were no hidden pieces found on the 26th floor either.

Since the time limit has disappeared anyway, I plan to move slowly and find things that look like hidden pieces.

Although there is no journey’s guide, I should be able to find most elements with the senses enhanced by the 권능 [divine power] of greed and the mana sensitivity reaching the 6th circle.

‘By the way, what kind of bird is this?’

“Chirp?”

Seun looked down at the baby bird.

I didn’t have time to observe it before the regression, but when I looked at it leisurely, it was more cute than I thought.

Wings with a sparkling green color reminiscent of 녹림 [lush greenery] and a blue beak. And its eyes were so big that it seemed to contain the whole world.

According to the trial content, it was just a baby bird picked up from the forest, but it wasn’t afraid of people and was chirping happily while receiving Seun’s touch.

‘I know most monsters to some extent. Is it because it’s a baby? I don’t know much about this one.’

Most of the monsters Seun had faced and studied were adults. He hadn’t had the opportunity to study the appearances of babies in detail.

Still, there was one monster that could be inferred from its characteristics.

‘No way.’

Seun quickly shook his head. There was no way that rare monster would exist in the trial, even fleetingly.

As he was heading towards his destination, he felt a burning heat from behind.

Could there be an ember left unextinguished?

That couldn’t be. Even if there were embers left, the grass and trees that could burn were thoroughly soaked with Seun’s magic.

It’s impossible for a wildfire to reoccur in this state.

“Chirp! Chirp!”

Even the baby bird chirped urgently towards the back.

Turning his head, he saw a wildfire raging there, even larger than the one that had initially burned the forest.

No, it wasn’t a wildfire. It was a bird with huge wings of fire, large enough to encompass the entire forest.

Moreover, it wasn’t normal fire but a creature with black wings of fire, as if painted with acrid smoke.

“Black Monstrous Bird?”

Seun had studied it through books in the library before his regression, but this was the first time he had seen it in person.

Originally, it was a being that roamed the world like a black cloud without a proper form, appearing wherever disaster struck, also known as the ‘Manifestation of Calamity.’

It was a creature that changed its attributes according to the surrounding disasters, and it seemed to have taken on the attribute of fire now.

‘This was the monster leading this trial.’

Seun momentarily recalled the trials he had experienced so far.

The catfish he saw in the 2nd floor trial, the Stone Lava in the 5th floor trial, the Sand Ghost in the 6th floor, and so on.

There were quite a few hidden boss monsters in the trials, besides the formal boss monsters that had to be defeated.

Among them were monsters like the Black Monstrous Bird in front of him, or the Golem and Living Lava he had seen in the volcano, which had the characteristics of being the masters of the trial itself.

Perhaps, there was a monster in charge of each floor’s trial?

The floors he hadn’t discovered were simply undiscovered, and they were hiding somewhere, causing the trials? That’s what he thought.

Perhaps, this trial was a much more systematic structure than Seun thought.

“Chirp!”

The baby bird pecked Seun’s arm with its beak.

It meant to either run away or fight, and to focus on the Black Monstrous Bird quickly.

‘This is troublesome.’

Seun hadn’t expected a monster to appear on the 26th floor.

He thought that protecting the baby bird from the wildfire was the end, so he had poured all his mana into using ‘Flash Flood.’

Although his dantian [energy center] was overflowing with internal energy, the Black Monstrous Bird was a monster that was difficult to damage with physical attacks.

It was already a strong monster, and if he fought with this penalty, Seun couldn’t guarantee the outcome.

‘Should I run away?’

In fact, this was the wisest course of action. Fighting the Black Monstrous Bird with no mana was insane.

At that moment.

Piyo-ooo-!!

A sharp cry was heard from somewhere.

It was more than just a sound; it became a sharp wind and attacked the Black Monstrous Bird.

Rustle.

The wind tore through the Black Monstrous Bird’s wings and cut off the flames, but it didn’t inflict proper damage.

The severed flames reignited and regained their original shape.

“Chirp!”

The baby bird flapped its wings and bounced up and down.

Looking in that direction, two emerald-green birds were approaching from the distant high sky.

‘Green Wind.’

The jade-colored wings, sparkling like emeralds, cut through the black clouds.

Each time they flapped their wings, the surrounding air currents violently swayed, and the clouds and smoke spread far away.

Green Wind.

It was a monster also called the wind of nature. No, rather than a monster, it was a being close to a spirit, fully imbued with the power of nature itself.

Looking at those two whirlwinds, Seun could confirm the identity of the baby bird.

‘It really was a Green Wind’s chick.’

As Green Wind was a being close to a spirit, its ecosystem was not well known.

Among them, the appearance of laying eggs or raising chicks was so rare that it could not be confirmed even in the Tower’s Grand Library.

So he was half-expecting it, but it was really a Green Wind’s chick.

Before the regression, the mother never appeared, and the baby bird disappeared as soon as the trial ended, so he couldn’t have imagined its identity.

“Piyo-ooo-!”

“Piiii-iiii-!!”

“Chirp! Chirp!”

The two Green Winds at the edge of his vision quickly approached Seun’s sides.

Speed close to the speed of sound.

He was worried that they might attack him first, but fortunately, they recognized Seun as an ally.

Perhaps the baby bird was explaining properly.

“This changes things.”

Green Wind. Two beings close to spirits, called divine beasts, had become allies.

Although attacks using wind were not very effective against the Black Monstrous Bird, Seun could inflict proper damage.

It seemed like he could fight it sufficiently if the Green Winds kept it in check from both sides. No, it would be enough if they just protected the baby bird instead so that it wouldn’t affect the trial.

– The Eyes of Jealousy begin to stare at the ‘Black Monstrous Bird.’

– The constellation, ‘Serpent Enclosing Jealousy,’ licks its tongue with pleasure, saying it’s been a while since it used its divine power.

– The constellation, ‘Hungry Prince,’ wonders what it will taste like, saying it’s the first time he’s eaten such food.

“Can you stay with your mom for a bit?”

“Chirp! Chirp!”

After carefully putting the baby bird down from his arms, Seun took out Durendal [his sword] and glared at the Black Monstrous Bird.

The Black Monstrous Bird’s black wings surrounding the forest were a perfect match for the word ‘Fire Demon.’

However, Seun had already gone through earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic eruptions.

Meaningless flames, and such.

“I’ll put you down quickly.”

“Groaaaaa-!!”

He wasn’t scared at all.