Chapter 39

Chapter 14. Akasha's Snake (7)

The forest quickly turned into a battlefield.

Flames soared, and monsters poured out like a horde of zombies.

"Kieek! Kieek!"

"Damn! What the hell is this!"

"I've never heard of anything like this...! Those Arangdan bastards, talking about maintaining tutorial order, what the hell did they do?"

Players who were collecting emblems and searching for hidden pieces to boost their contribution points in E-Block were instantly shattered.

Swinging their swords and raising their shields were not enough.

Formations that were being set up splintered into dozens of pieces. Then, they were cut down by the axes that came from all directions.

Even those who managed to form some semblance of a formation were soon trampled and crushed.

An endless tide of monsters.

Looking around, one could see goblins cutting off human heads and roaring, and trolls tearing players apart.

If there was a hell, this must be it.

Only a few managed to escape with their lives.

But even they felt they would soon be caught.

There was no place without monsters.

It was hard to imagine how so many monsters could have been hiding in E-Block all this time.

No matter how they tried to evade, they eventually met the rapidly spreading sea of flames.

A situation where they could neither advance nor retreat.

"Exactly! What the hell is going on!"

"Damn it!"

Players who had thought the tutorial would be simple screamed in a situation where there was no escape.

And then.

They belatedly realized the meaning of the trials in E-Block.

Collect 99 emblems to prove your worth.

Proving one's worth.

It was a task so difficult that even risking one's life would not be enough.

Players began to think of ways to survive, cutting down monsters continuously.

Team members grouped together, and solo players tried to form alliances.

Amidst the chaos.

Whoosh!

A shadow flew between the trees, trying to minimize its footsteps.

Swoosh!

Yeonwoo moved forward slowly, stepping lightly.

[Obtained 12 emblems.]

[Obtained 4 emblems.]

[Obtained...]

...

Activating his senses to the maximum, he read the movements of the surrounding monsters, stepped lightly to minimize his presence, and only struck the final blows.

This allowed him to quickly accumulate emblems.

'This is what they call...'

Yeonwoo smiled coldly.

'...a freebie?'

Recalling the slang used by his squad members.

Yeonwoo slowly but quickly advanced back to the orc village.

His destination: Akasha's Snake Den.

It was time to bring out Akasha's Snake.

* * *

The orc village was completely turned upside down.

"Chirik! The lizardmen have started a war! They've crossed the northern wall!"

The sudden report from the 32nd tribal chief guarding the north.

The orc king frowned.

"Why now! Why would the lizardmen start a war!"

"I don't know! They're saying something about our king killing their king and have attacked! King! Help us!"

"Chirik! These crazy lizards! How dare they!"

The orc king's eyes blazed with fury.

Just when the resurrection ritual was in full swing!

He was already frustrated because they hadn't found the humans who killed the god, and now this!

But the orc king remained calm.

He couldn't let bad thoughts interfere with the resurrection ritual.

No, he decided to think positively, that the god would have more food to offer.

"Chirik! Tell the shaman! There's a lot of food! He should be careful, as we'll bring the food soon!"

"Understood, chirik!"

The orc king gave instructions to his subordinate, then drew the sword hanging on the wall and stepped outside.

The sword that had made him the greatest warrior of his race.

With this sword, he had always been victorious.

And when he stood on the battlefield.

The orc king was not just excited but also stunned.

Not only were there lizardmen, but other monsters as well!

All the monsters were rushing towards them from the vast horizon.

The orc king realized something was wrong.

This was a trap!

A wicked trap to throw all the forest races into chaos...

But the orc king wasn't intelligent enough to explain it logically and had to face the monster rush head-on.

"Build the wall, chirik!"

"Chirik! Bring the carts! Block them, chirik!"

The orcs tried to rally their subordinates and block the rush, but it didn't work.

The monsters broke through the walls and carts, trampling the village. The orcs fought tenaciously, refusing to be overwhelmed.

The desert was covered with the bodies of dead monsters.

Blood turned the black earth red, forming pools.

And above it all.

"Parak!"

"Kranum!"

The goblin king and the orc king called each other's names as they clashed.

Boom!

The shockwave from their clash shook the ground.

* * *

'They must be fighting now.'

Yeonwoo, moving towards Akasha's Snake Den, turned his gaze to the distant sounds of the clash.

He didn't need to see it to know who the sounds belonged to.

The goblin king, Kranum.

The orc king, Parak.

Both were boss monsters that could hold their own even against Hargan.

Kranum, the ruler of the west, and Parak, the ruler of the east, despised each other like enemies.

Kranum thought Parak was brutish, and Parak thought Kranum was an inferior goblin.

They found it humiliating to be compared to each other.

But both were certain of one thing.

They were both strong enough to easily crush any ordinary player, and many players had died trying to kill them to boost their contribution points.

Their clash would not be easily decided.

And the war would only intensify the atmosphere, causing more destruction and madness.

The situation Yeonwoo had hoped for.

Therefore, he needed to guide Akasha's Snake as quickly as possible.

To a place full of prey!

['Entered Akasha's Snake Den.']

Yeonwoo entered the deep interior, familiar with the message.

There, he found.

Kaaah!

"Chirik! God! Maintain... cough!"

"Chirik! God is angry! God is furious!"

"God is punishing us, chirik!"

"Run, chirik!"

The den was in complete chaos.

Akasha's Snake was creating a battlefield of its own.

It had grown to a size of about 5 meters and was wreaking havoc, devouring orcs indiscriminately.

The altar was already completely destroyed, and the shaman who had been conducting the ritual was nowhere to be seen, presumably eaten first.

The devout orcs tried to calm Akasha's Snake or flee, but nothing worked.

Akasha's Snake never misses its prey.

If they tried to run, it would spray venom to dissolve them, and if they stayed close, it would move swiftly to catch and eat them. It could also strike with its tail or crush them with its body, leaving no place to run.

"Of course."

Yeonwoo looked into Akasha's blood-red eyes and muttered.

'It's drunk on blood.'

Akasha's Snake is not a great or divine being.

It's just large and strong.

Always suffering from hunger and thirst, it only thinks about how to feel full.

Moreover, it had just been resurrected and was extremely hungry.

If there was a large amount of blood being spilled outside?

'It would go mad if it didn't feed.'

He had planned for this, and if it hadn't been drunk on blood, he would have forced it to be.

But the effect was even better than expected.

There was no need to do anything more.

He just had to watch.

Kaaah!

Akasha's Snake devoured the last remaining orc and howled at the ceiling.

It had grown to about 10 meters, with blood and flesh stuck to its mouth.

But it still wasn't satisfied and howled for a long time.

Then, it hit its head against the wall a few times and suddenly dug a hole in the ground, burrowing down quickly.

'Here it goes.'

Yeonwoo continued to erase his presence, fearing that Akasha's Snake might sense him.

But he didn't lose track of its movements.

The snake swam through the underground, heading towards the surface.

The direction was southwest, where the monsters were clashing.

'Got it!'

Yeonwoo relaxed and stood up.

The snake den without Akasha's Snake.

The moment he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

'Akasha's Snake will take a lot of time to sweep through the battlefield, but I can't waste all that time.'

Hidden pieces are called hidden pieces for a reason.

Especially in a place where a unique hidden piece like Akasha's Snake resides, there must be something significant hidden.

His brother had mentioned this.

Even if it looked ordinary, there was a reason for the hidden piece to be there.

Akasha's Snake, which shouldn't be in the tutorial, must have a reason for being there.

Neither he nor Galiard, who had chased it for a long time, had found that 'reason.'

But he was certain of one thing.

The reason would not be trivial.

And throughout the thousands of years of the tower's history, no one had found that 'reason.'

If he could find a place that no one had found in the tower's long history?

Yeonwoo suppressed his racing heart and landed lightly in the den.

He opened his dragon eye wide.

He wanted to find the place where Akasha's Snake had made its nest.

'Given the snake's nature, there must be a place where it can rest or feel safe from external threats.'

At that moment.

His dragon eye detected something.

A narrow passage along the wall.

Narrow for Akasha's Snake, but wide enough for Yeonwoo.

He quickly stepped lightly and passed through the passage, entering the deepest part of the snake den.

And then.

Whoosh!

A cold wind suddenly blew from the inside.

Sensing something, he stepped forward with a gleam in his eyes.

Yeonwoo saw it.

'Here it is.'

A completely different scene from the barren wasteland outside.

A wind that felt like it could strip the flesh from the bones blew along the walls, and the floor was covered with soft snow and slippery ice.

Icicles hung from the ceiling instead of stalactites.

A beautiful snowscape that made one gasp in awe.

And at the center.

A young boy, about 5 years old, was sitting.

'I found it. The reason.'