Chapter 92

* * * * *
Awakened by death, Karot was currently practicing his power control in his lush green lair.
“Hup…”
Siaak
Karot inhaled, and the black mana floating around him began to spin furiously.
“Whoa…”
He exhaled again, and the black mana that had been spinning furiously stopped spinning and began to float in a mass.
Thrrrr
Karot slowly opened his eyes. He saw black mana floating around him.
“That’s a lot of power.”
Karot muttered something briefly as he looked at the black mana and smiled. The man he was now was a far cry from the man he’d been when he’d entered the palace with his mastery of the Forbidden Book.
“Should I thank him… Should I thank him?”
Karot recalled the blacksmith who had dealt him his first death in a row, shattering his shield with a single blow.
“Come on, say thank you… Huh?”
Karot stopped muttering and frowned slightly. Someone had broken through the alarm spell.
“Hmm.”
Karot let out a short curse, and black mana appeared around him. The black mana spun furiously as it appeared and began to wrap around Karot’s body.
Siaak
The furiously spinning black mana began to be rapidly absorbed into Karot’s body, and in the next instant, he vanished from sight, as if he had been drawn into the ground.
-Crack!
-Crunch!
“Fireball!”
“Heels!”
Karot’s reappearance from the depths of the abyss was triggered by an alarm spell.
“Human.”
Karot muttered to himself as he saw the humans engaged in battle with five Red Kobolds in the distance, and reached out toward them.
Siaak
A giant magic circle appeared over the heads of the battling humans and kobolds.
“Huh? What is it?”
“What is that?”
-Crack?
The humans and kobolds, still in the midst of battle, were bewildered by the sudden appearance of the magic circle overhead. Karot grinned and clenched his fists at the sight.
Tweets.
Quack, quack, quack, quack!
The magic circle exploded with a roar, creating a massive explosion. Karot looked toward the source of the explosion.
“Hmmm. Neat.”
There was no sign of the human and kobold that had been fighting. Karot had returned to his own heart.
“…after.”
But after a short sigh at the alarm spell that went off as soon as he returned to the depths, Karot moved back to where the alarm spell had gone off.
“…Hmm?
Karot shook his head at the sight: the kobolds were already dead, and the two humans were rummaging through their bodies.
“Something looks familiar…
The back of one of them was eerily familiar. I must have seen him somewhere. Karot pondered, and then the familiar human who had been searching the corpse got up.
“…!
Seeing such a familiar human face startled Karot a bit.
“Big…long?
The familiar man turned out to be the blacksmith who had killed him. Karot shook his head to make sure he hadn’t seen the wrong man, and looked at him again, but nothing had changed. It was the same blacksmith who had killed him.
‘The blacksmith… Cackle.
Karot smiled inwardly as it became clear that it was the blacksmith. It was nice of him to come to him, even if he wasn’t, since he was going to be looking for him sooner or later.
Siaak
Just then, the human with the blacksmith ripped up the scroll and disappeared. The blacksmith began to move away as well. Karot moved to where the blacksmith had been when he disappeared.
“Blacksmith…cough cough”
Karot smirked sinisterly in the direction the blacksmith had disappeared, then raised his hand and called out.
“Retrospection”
Sigh…
Black mana flowed from his hands, spreading around him, and Karot’s mind began to fill in the details of what had happened here.
“…Hmmm.”
Seeing everything that had happened, Karot could only frown; there really wasn’t much to it. Karot moved again in the direction the blacksmith had disappeared, following after him.
-Krug
-k..luk
Arriving at the blacksmith’s location some time later, Karot smiled as he watched the blacksmith slaughter the kobolds and sift through their bodies. Karoth raised his hand toward the blacksmith. It was time to begin.
Ouch.
Black mana began to flow from Karot’s hands. The black mana continued to flow and spread around him, and as the blacksmith pulled out the scroll, Karot opened his mouth to speak.
“Dark Field.”
* * * * *
Ming Hu was holding the kobold. There were two kobolds left to complete the quest, and two kobolds heading toward you.
“That’s it.”
Jumbled
With a muttered curse, Ming Hu advanced toward the kobold. When he was within striking range, the kobold swung his axe, but Minghu’s fist was a little faster.
Puck!
-k..luk
The kobold began to slowly collapse, and when Ming Hu saw this, he threw a punch at the kobold right next to him.
Puck!
-Crrrr…
After killing the two kobolds, Ming Hu circled the corpses of the surrounding kobolds and began picking up the dropped items. When he had collected all the dropped items, he opened the quest window to see the quest.
<The Emperor's First Command
The lush greenery near the East Gate of the Nexus is infested with Red Kobolds, and its proximity to the capital has taken its toll on many. The Empire sent the Knights of the Blade to destroy the Red Kobolds, but none of them returned. Travel to the Lush Greenery to defeat the Red Kobolds and find clues to the Knights who never returned!
[Cablanca: 1 / 1].
[Red Kobold: 50/50].
Difficulty Level: B
Quest Reward: Helioca Merit 350,000
Finally, the quest is over.
"Now we can drill through the fourth floor."
Ming Hu smiled at the merit he would receive as a reward and closed the quest window. He opened his inventory and took out the scroll.
That was the moment.
[Karot the Warlock declares a dark field].
[Dark field declared].
[Reduces Darkness property resistance by 70%].
[Reduces magic armor by 30%].
[Scrolling is not available inside a field].
A huge number of messages appeared.
"What…what."
In a panic, Ming Hu looked around. The world around him was changing rapidly. The blue sky had turned grayish-blue, the once-thick trees had shrunk and twisted, and the flowers that had bloomed were wilting at a rapid rate. Ming Hu read the message once more.
"Warlock?
It was the warlock who had created this situation. Ming Hu looked around at the devastation. If he had declared a field, it was sure to be around here.
"There it is!
As expected, the warlock was nearby. Ming Hu could see the warlock staring at him, but when he spotted the warlock, he could only shake his head.
"But… why is there a warlock here all of a sudden?
It was a lush green area inhabited by Red Kobolds and ruled by Kablanka. It didn't make sense to me that a warlock would be here.
"Wait…
Suddenly, Ming Hu had a thought and checked his messages again.
"Warlock Ka…Lot?
It was a name he had heard before. Ming Hu thought about where he had heard the name, and when he realized where, he furrowed his brow and glared at the wizard, or rather, Karot.
"That crazy wizard's name is…
The mad wizard who killed him in the imperial palace was apparently named Karot.
"They said he was dead.
But at the time, it was a clear kill. My reputation was boosted. Karot was definitely dead then.
"Is it regenerated?
Ming Hu thought as he looked at Karot, who had somehow moved in front of him. There was no other explanation for this situation than Rizen. Karot was obviously a Risen.
"Cackle, blacksmith."
Karot smiled wickedly at Ming Hu. Then he said.
"I haven't forgotten what happened. I'm determined to–"
But Karot wasn't done talking.
Ta-da!
Ming Hu began to run toward Karot. Ming Hu had no intention of listening to Karot in the first place. As he ran toward Karotte, Ming Hu shouted, "Karotte!
"I didn't forget about you, asshole!"
"…"
Karot raised his hand as he saw Ming Hu rushing towards him. Karot raised his hand and black mana began to gather in front of him at a rapid rate.
Ouch.
"This seems a little risky…
Ming Hu swallowed hard as he watched the sphere of black mana gathering and spinning furiously in front of Karot's hand.
"Can it be avoided?"
Karot opened his mouth to speak. At the same time, the fiercely spinning black orb stopped spinning.
"…coming!
Ming Hu thought the sphere would fly, and as he ran, he prepared himself to launch himself at any moment. But what happened next was the exact opposite of what Ming Hu thought.
Siaaag
The sphere stopped spinning and grew thinner and thinner, until it turned into a giant circle. Ming Hu felt an ominous sensation as he rushed to the front of the giant circle.
"Let's beat it.
Ming Hu turned to the side. It was then.
"Die."
Swoosh!
As Karot finished speaking, a black beam of light began to pour out of a giant circle. The speed was tremendous, and Ming Hu was struck by the black beam, sending him out of range. Once out of range, Ming Hu quickly checked his health.
"…400,000?
It didn't seem like much of a hit, but 400,000 health had been removed. Ming Hu stared at Karot in astonishment.