Light of Arad: Forerunner

Chapter 17

From the moment Jinseong began moving with G.S.D. and Sharan, nothing stood in his way.

That included the Empire’s knights as well.

With key figures like Harts following Van, they were absent from their posts, allowing Jinseong to ascend Sky Castle with only minor caution and without any interference.

‘And… as expected, G.S.D. still has his old skills. The way he used to carry players in the past hasn’t gone anywhere.’

It wasn’t just about his relationship with the NPCs.

G.S.D.’s ability to literally sweep through the monsters in Sky Castle was astounding.

Although Jinseong could handle them too, he couldn’t help but be impressed by G.S.D.’s overwhelming firepower and range.

“Um, Jinseong… sir?”

“Yes?”

While G.S.D. was dealing with the monsters, Sharan, who had been waiting a bit behind, called out to Jinseong.

The dark elf with blue skin spoke to Jinseong with a somewhat conflicted expression.

“Ahem, well, G.S.D. has permitted you to climb Sky Castle, but… I still—how should I put it? I still don’t completely trust you, Jinseong. To trust someone without even having a pass from Roger Levin… it’s a bit much.”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to trust me.”

Jinseong promptly cut off her attempt to fish for information.

It was obvious what she wanted.

She wanted to know what the Tower of Despair was, G.S.D.’s connection to it, and where and how Jinseong had obtained such information.

Naturally, Jinseong had no intention of sharing, nor did he particularly want to be on friendly terms with Sharan, so he didn’t care about her motives.

“Well, that’s not what I was trying to say! You should listen to the end when someone speaks, especially a dark elf. I was going to say that I could give you a pass to Sky Castle in the name of the Mage Guild. If you use it~ you could share the news you gather on the way. You know we officially have the right to travel to Sky Castle to manage the grand magic circle, right?”

Jinseong remembered that the Mage Guild could indeed use a type of airship called the ‘Magata’ to ascend and descend Sky Castle.

However, he also knew that while they had the right, the actual ownership and management of the Magata belonged to another dark elf, not the Mage Guild. So, he wasn’t going to be swayed by Sharan’s offer.

Since there wouldn’t be any significant interaction with Sharan or the Mage Guild in the upcoming ‘main scenario quests,’ Jinseong simply intended to wrap up the situation.

“Is that so? If you’re offering a pass, I’ll gladly take it… but sharing the information I have in exchange might be a bit—.”

“Of course, ahem… there will be a fair reward.”

Unintentionally, Jinseong had caught a big fish in Sharan.

A fair reward?

What could he gain from the Mage Guild?

‘…Ah.’

Jinseong’s lips slowly curled into a grin.

“Cubes.”

“What?”

“Cubes. Colorless Cube Fragments, Black, White, Red, Blue, and even Gold Cube Fragments. I’d like to get some cubes. Oh, and potions too, right?”

“P-Potions?”

“HP Potions, MP Potions—. Never mind, I’ll tell you the details ‘when we get back down.’ It looks like the monsters have been cleared. You should go ahead. G.S.D. is waiting.”

Jinseong said with a wicked smile.

Sharan blinked her large eyes, wearing an expression that showed she had no idea what had just passed over her.

* * *

How long had it been since they started ascending Sky Castle?

‘The feeling has changed. Now, probably…’

Just as Jinseong sensed the change in the atmosphere, he saw a group approaching from another direction.

Seria, the female fighter player, Van, and Aganzo.

At that moment, Jinseong tilted his head in confusion.

‘Lenny isn’t here? Harts said he went up with them, but he’s not here…’

Could it be that the Iron Wolf Knights had split off to guard or search other areas while ascending with the others?

In any case, Jinseong needed to proceed according to the ‘original plan’ he had discussed with G.S.D. and Sharan.

“Then I’ll stay behind and guard the rear. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Will that be okay?”

“Yes. As long as I can hear you, it’ll be fine. You too, Sharan.”

Van and Aganzo exchanged words with G.S.D. and Sharan, while Sharan spoke with Seria about ‘sensing different magic from the grand magic circle’ and other such things. Jinseong positioned himself at a distance where he could still hear their voices.

‘But… the female fighter, the player, won’t be able to see me on her monitor.’

At the same time, it was a distance that allowed Jinseong to avoid detection by the female fighter player.

In terms of the Dungeon & Fighter game, it was like being in the ‘adjacent room’ of a dungeon.

In any case, Jinseong’s position wouldn’t be visible on the player’s monitor, so for now, that was enough.

Rumble… Rumble…

As soon as everyone gathered, a strong vibration shook Sky Castle.

And in an instant, something flashed, and Van Balschut moved to block it!

‘Zieg Hart. Lenny hasn’t appeared yet… No problem.’

Jinseong carefully observed the appearance of Zieg Hart, the early final boss of the Dungeon Area: Sky Castle.

“In the name of the Dragon Lord’s servant, the Lord of Light, and the Gatekeeper, step back.”

Zieg Hart’s words elicited various reactions from the NPCs.

“Dragon Lord…! As expected, this place is connected to Bakal.”

“A gatekeeper, huh. Our suspicions are confirmed.”

“The surrounding waves are unusual. We should be cautious.”

If Sharan, Aganzo, and G.S.D. reacted in a very human manner, Jinseong could only click his tongue again at Seria’s response as she walked toward Zieg Hart.

“Hello, Lord. I’m Seria from Elvenguard.”

“Uh….”

“We’re just here to check on the grand magic circle and its contamination.”

It wasn’t just Van who was taken aback.

Jinseong, too, had to search his memory while watching this scene.

‘Was Seria always like this? It’s such an early episode that I can’t even remember.’

Even though he had raised multiple characters, how many people would have focused on the story of every main scenario quest from start to finish for all those characters?

Although Jinseong enjoyed the story of Dungeon & Fighter, he had reached a point where many of his characters were raised out of habit. So, when it came to ‘such an early’ story, he inevitably lacked detailed and specific data!

‘I’ll figure it out by following the flow. Maybe Seria really was like that. After all, here…’

There was no Lenny.

At the very least, he remembered that the issue revolved around Lenny. Additionally, Jinseong also recalled that there would be no further encounters with Lenny in Sky Castle, so he could accurately identify what he needed to focus on.

‘Then the contamination…? Who’s the one contaminated this time? Zieg Hart?’

In Granfloris, Ghoul Guishi had been contaminated.

And Ghoul Guishi was practically the final boss of that dungeon area.

If that’s the case, was the one contaminated this time the final boss of Dungeon Area: Sky Castle, Zieg Hart?

Jinseong knew what was coming next—the sequence of the impending battle.

“It seems like we can’t communicate with this opponent.”

“Well, then we’ll just have to communicate in another way. The way we’re best at.”

However, the battle itself unfolded differently than Jinseong remembered.

As he watched the frantic battle, Jinseong remained still.

‘That female fighter player seems to be a grappler. She probably thinks she’s fighting the monsters alone right now, doesn’t she?’

Watching the female fighter player’s movements as she suplexed the monsters around Zieg Hart, Jinseong realized something else.

There was definitely a player behind that ‘character,’ controlling it via a monitor and keyboard.

And that player’s perspective would be quite different from what Jinseong was seeing.

‘From my point of view… Aganzo, Van, G.S.D., and even Sharan are all fighting off the waves of monsters flooding in.’

Jinseong suddenly felt the gravity of his situation in this massive battle, the likes of which he had rarely seen even during his time playing Dungeon & Fighter.

He was reminded that this was his reality.

‘Yeah, to escape from this reality—to return to my body, to the place I knew…’

Jinseong shook his head, clearing away distracting thoughts.

What he needed to do now was focus.

By now, the ‘adventurer’ player must have realized that Zieg Hart was nearly immortal.

As he watched them retreat temporarily from Zieg Hart, Jinseong also pulled back further.

In a place still out of view of the player’s monitor, Jinseong listened intently.

He heard that Sharan had figured out the flow of magic being supplied to Zieg Hart.

She suggested they all go there together.

‘Ah, there’s a path to the Floating Castle. So, does that mean it’s not Zieg Hart who’s contaminated but maybe an Evil Eye?’

And Jinseong also realized

.

There were still many possibilities left. To confirm them, he had to move himself.

Though the thought of having to traverse the eerie, floating paths outside Sky Castle to reach the Floating Castle was a daunting one.

* * *

Whiiiieee────…!!!!

“Ugh—.”

Jinseong frowned and tried to keep his upper body as low as possible.

How many floors of Sky Castle had he climbed to get here?

Looking down at the distant ground below, it seemed he must have climbed at least 150 floors.

‘But to step outside like this! The wind!’

It felt like scaling the outer walls of the world’s tallest building.

With a bit of exaggeration, it was a situation so nerve-wracking that Jinseong almost felt like the wind could sweep him off, sending him plummeting to the ground.

‘How did they film that movie on that building in Dubai?’

In this strange space called the Floating Castle, where even the stone fragments that once made up Sky Castle floated around, Jinseong forced his mind to wander with all sorts of thoughts to dull his fear as he finally caught sight of the adventurer’s party.

A sinister magic circle drawn on the floor of the Floating Castle, and the large eyes guarding it from either side.

‘That magic circle is supplying magic to Zieg Hart. There doesn’t seem to be any sign of contamination. What I need to check is the boss monster of this place, the Evil Eye.’

The monster that had once tormented players was easily dealt with.

Confirming that no cards had dropped near the large eyes, Jinseong prepared to move again.

‘Sharan and Seria have just now… severed the flow of magic. That means this isn’t contaminated either, so—.’

As if he had been waiting, Jinseong quickly dashed off.

Wouldn’t they soon descend to defeat Zieg Hart? There was nothing to be gained from encountering them again.

‘Ugh, thank goodness I found this path in advance.’

If there was any silver lining, it was that Jinseong had anticipated the situation, even while trembling with fear as he climbed.

Had he not found a path to return to Sky Castle without being seen by Van Balschut, Aganzo, or any other powerful figures returning, he would have surely been caught.

Jinseong returned to Sky Castle ahead of them and once again hid in the ‘adjacent room,’ keeping a close watch on the situation.

───────────…!!!

Zieg Hart’s loud technique was unleashed, marking the beginning of the final battle.

The situation was unfolding just as Jinseong remembered.

Therefore, it was also a moment when Jinseong felt an overwhelming sense of frustration.

‘I think there was a scene where he revived a couple more times due to the remaining magic power, but it’s over anyway.’

So, when and how should Jinseong intervene?

What was contaminated, and what was Jinseong supposed to correct?

‘…This is strange. I thought there would be some issue related to Lenny, but Lenny has already disappeared.’

There was only one possibility left that Jinseong could think of.

The possibility that Zieg Hart continued to persist even after they cut off the magic supply.

‘If that’s the real problem and I have to step in to resolve it… No way. If I do that, my identity will be immediately exposed. This isn’t like that time with the Male Ghost Knight where there were lag issues or disconnects.’

Would Jinseong really reveal himself to the female fighter player who was fighting Zieg Hart with all her might?

It could be posted on the internet in no time.

While clearing a solo quest or scenario quest, an unknown player suddenly appeared.

And if Jinseong’s identity were to be revealed…

‘…Even if I’m … I wouldn’t be able to avoid a penalty.’

A penalty would be the least of his worries.

His life could be in danger.

So what should he do? How should he act?

Jinseong swallowed hard.

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