Chapter 249: The Three Wells (2)
q7Aw20QLike I said before, there were three wells under the World Tree.OVe
l9uilG6They were Urdarbrunnr, Hvergelmr, and Mimisbrunnr.edV
UaQ4xhX“This looks fabulous.”bsOD
28GFGLrThe one in front of us was glowing in radiant gold.c6b3
vGLMimisbrunnr.SxQ1luX
ssqNNThis was the easiest of the three routes, and was considered an easy mode even in the game.AKMg
lUAxuww“What should we do, dongsaeng?”y4OZhC
hg5“The standard move would be to destroy the well.”sZYkBk4
qGcZKrnThe three wells were the main source of energy that allowed the World Tree to grow. With these removed, it would be possible to stop the expansion of the World Tree.0Jkhu
jZuQWIH“How do we remove this? Do we just bombard it with magic?”0Rzl
RCbWOx“We could do that, but funnily enough, there’s another way to approach it.”vX10vq
391rKDH“What is it?”XIQ
7Uyn“We can drink it.”Wj09UfW
NiU“Huh?”s4hUQWq
0lBRC“Drinking this makes you smarter.”gshlOS
vIm“…Really?”Crc
jBmI was serious.aSgw
Jy14Each of the wells provided energy to the World Tree, and in other words, that meant this entire pond of water was an elixir of some sort.dH8zBTo
AR4yAlthough I don’t recall its effect being anything unfathomably overpowered, it did increase your mana and other stats by a little.LG9rp
DH5WQwEThis was also a place where the player party could drink these elixirs to prepare themselves for the upcoming battle.aBcv
BUg6w0DI haven’t actually drank this myself though, so I was just speaking from my experience in the game.NxxnPc
I7mU“Normally, it would be impossible to dry up the well by drinking but… how many of us did we have here again?”Ay99t
imB“Probably about 10,000.”7q1r3G9
L8H“Drinking about a liter each would probably empty this up.”XOSdn
0GtPi“Ahah~”4FWj
IyfrFKI placed torches around the well, and stood before the soldiers setting up their tents.VU5VMPP
RqhoB5y“Everyone, attention!”Pl0bpJ
uKFAlthough it was still dark with little light to go around, the golden light from the well acted like a spotlight and gathered their eyes.a4dM4s
82rJ9K6“According to our investigation, we have discovered that this water is ‘drinkable’. This water will replace the planned supplies of water.”Dgu
CBSJMo“Is it really okay to drink?” asked one of the soldiers after raising his hand.lWWz
Z2FSvCHis voice represented the doubts of many others.LRaOn
nx3v3“Uhh… It’s not that I am doubting your words, Sir Korin, but… we have no idea what lies inside a pond in the middle of a place like this…”n71FF
9OTIdIt was a fair question.7we
JvVvXdLight had suddenly vanished from the world. All sorts of monsters were creeping up from nowhere, and we were advancing beneath a massive tree that could reach the universe.zpFa
jDHfObviously, it was fair to doubt whether a pond of golden water under that tree would be drinkable or not.jEWGAK
SBL7E4“I understand your concerns. Let me lead an example by drinking it firsthand.”HH9MKL
PscV8l5“Sir, there is no need for you to…”JAAesK
yDoVITo let them leave aside their worries, I asked for a cup and scooped up until it was full to the brim. The ambient golden water splashed around while giving off light by itself. Honestly, any normal person from Earth would wonder whether this was radioactive or not but…85EW80
dZ3Qxcv– Gulp gulp!CyeElmN
Ngd62I immediately poured the water down my throat. The well of Mimisbrunnr was surprisingly…q9Pr
7Lp7Oj‘What the heck. Why is this so delicious?’5O6n
efFZIt tasted like sweet honey. Even though I had tasted all sorts of delicacies in this world, this was the best drink I had come across by far.v1b0
vSRch1Besides, I was still a sub-player, and the results were reflected tangibly through a message.QvObWJa
KnvO[You have consumed the Water of Mimisbrunnr.]hV8j2s
koHX– Your Aura and Mana Regeneration has increased by 250%MIk7hiI
0G4OArqIt seemed that it didn’t increase your wisdom like what the legends told, but I could still feel my head turning clearer, and it felt like I could process my thoughts much faster.9BdhbE
MEW57SWell, it might just be a placebo effect, but there was no doubt that drinking it served no harm.kj6V
uKP8Un‘With this regeneration… I might be able to sustain the Sun for a while.’Y42SW
wVotAs expected of moments before the final battle, even a buff from the well was extraordinary.dooIX
pYa5JF“S, Sir Korin? How do you feel?”NS5o2nz
l7g6ZThe soldiers asked after carefully taking a step closer. They seemed very curious about the effects of the water.BHVD2L
Tnp“Ehem… This is very delicious.”Xd1O
qHKBga“Sorry? Delicious?”E1H1Bm
cLSpkHD“Yes. Absolutely delicious. It feels like my mind is getting clearer and aiya~. Maybe it’s just as the mages said!”hniLUfd
N5Fv“What did the mages say?”fCaJd
dyA6DI spread rumors, which were mainly true, to the soldiers that were becoming increasingly more curious about the water.xtS
jiuT3“Apparently this is really good for your body. Especially for men.”oseHfl
BwJ“For men?”rRz
SQAIcPtThe soldiers immediately understood what I meant by that.lTei7
dPG– Gulp!AdHgI5l
syt– As long as I drink that…YDs
4btJTAfter that, it was quite straight-forward.8JWn
yfsMUz8– Ohh! This tastes incredible!Rd2I6ol
nwXeAY– Is this honey? How can water taste like this?WuLN
LQ3Pb– I can feel my mind turning clearer!n1asM2
FhKTAEj– This really must be good for your body then!JZgE
3lJOzIf this really was the Well of Wisdom like the original legends, this entire group of 10,000 people might become masters and doctors in the future.CE6B
782UAfter filling my bottle with the golden water, I was returning to the encampment when I came across a familiar face.HiOOP
xZJY“Are you not going to drink it, Hua?”2LAxfqy
efwhPR5“I’m not interested.”cdP
ErtFBvEven Alicia was in the middle of drinking it, after murmuring to herself how this would improve her grades, but Hua didn’t seem to have any interest in it.G3vG0L
BiNZI4xThis was good for the body and delicious though, so I wanted her to give it a try.CDHGV
JKKw“I’ll give you some, so try it. It tastes great.”QUI8x
1dHKwXv“…Maybe just a little.”oTwo
gmTa3I poured the water from my bottle into a small cup, and Hua received it from me with her tiny hands. She started drinking with a skeptical look on her face, but her face flushed up while drinking it.EZb0
W6fA“It’s tasty.”8Iii
82tW3f“Right?”OLiLv
AkM3qIt appeared that she hadn’t been expecting some golden water to taste this good.WJRp
q8gV“Wait…”5lY
jJTFHer eyes started being tainted in blue. She was changing to Ran.c4jfyP
fjTP“Hello, oppa,” she greeted.co0
r62“Hey. What did Hua say?”KRSrma
1uoe“She said it was delicious and wanted me to try as well.”l5z
Kqs5cuf“How nice.”dCqizky
o0Wjss“I know, right?”hF5R
Xr7wEven though Hua was quiet and reserved, she occasionally showed her cute and affectionate side.mXUTDLK
LzO“Oppa. I can’t see you properly. Can you come a bit closer?”mck
iY60r“Sure.”V0P
dFWNUbI walked closer and sat next to Ran. When we were so close that we could feel each other’s temperature, Ran rested her head on my shoulder.6rEM
hDh“This darkness is making it really uncomfortable,” she complained.iKjZa2
GJt“Yeah. I didn’t know he could pull off something like this.”jHLV8q
k6U3tUntil now, I only had a superficial understanding of gods.vhEqn
0rPWhether it be a god or a Danann, I simply thought of them as slightly mysterious and powerful existences. Somewhere around… a slightly more powerful superhuman, who was strong but not impossible to defeat.8q1
IMOucX8However, seeing the extraordinary feat of making light disappear from the world, I was rather appalled by it.8Gyzg
mJ5I realized that the gods of this world were capable of doing some crazy things, although they weren’t omnipotent by any means.clw4X
ppe2“But there’s probably not that many gods who can do something like this. I heard Master tell me once in the past, that there were gods above gods called ‘God Kings’.”OTRRpX
tOK9NbThe power of a god came from their natural concept and the faith of their followers.ddAHeer
2snhsIn other words, the more people there were praising that concept, the powerful the god would become.qfs
hWkF“That must be what light is. It’s essential for everyone, and is therefore naturally praised by the people.”wJ0R8
pBKxYHD“Light… That’s true, but oppa. If that’s really the case…”gPk1
v4ijWSun.IU0
PqFRrCpThat was the divinity I was carrying. Although I had no plans of becoming a god, there was also a concept within me that was praised and revered by every creation under the Sun.lMO
Kyddo5“Valtazar… Do I really have to become a god to defeat him?”SGdlqmx
27yoeIIt was a weird turn of events.de3
pNWk3bnThere was not even a single mention of anything like this in the game, and even in the last iteration, the concept of gods had never been so apparent.7LYK
Mw57What was so different about now and the last iteration?XYbP4k
bHBw9G3“Whatever it is, that doesn’t change anything.”cel1m36
HVHdWi7I had to defeat Tates Valtazar, the Light of this generation. It was simple.Xm9
8uDe4“Oppa, where are you going?” Seeing me stand up, Ran asked.S0M
NYfX2“If I follow the root up again… and go down by another root, I should be able to arrive at another well.”F699
oXQmFH“We can come with you.”N4A3n
o7W“No.”kv8
gfvt8SOI sat her back down, because I was the best suited for this task.W4041
Opz“Save your energy. It won’t take long.”qkS8DjD
AJc8K****tKctH
RsXjy– Kuaaahk!t43
OZ5yu– Help!Gtf4sg
YZn– Stop it! Stop them!6MoGzqC
pXDTpUScreams and shrieks were echoing the battlefield, and it infected the rest of the army with uneasiness and fear.oKZY
wGCThis was a scene taken straight out of hell.mFWXOR
voKThe great evils of a mythology were intertwined with the shrieks of humans.Xro0Y
HWDKjo“Y, Your Highness! Another group has appeared behind us! Undeads!”CnrHx
hdKdhdHearing the urgent news conveyed by a knight captain, Miruam looked around with a frown.lKdzupe
0HD9J“Send the troops with magic resistance armors to the rear. What happened to the supporting bombardments from the mages?”g7Vby
JfkVXip“They ceased around 5 minutes ago… We believe they have run out of mana.”jb6
ZS5xUcCThere was no more support coming from the distant mages. Miruam was clearer than anyone else on what that entailed.hTz
OzaThe expedition army was packed with mages.B82v
knJNjoNot only was there the rearguard that had been separated due to the roots of the World Tree, but there were also several mages in every battalion at the very least.ZGpygih
HdppThe fact that there wasn’t any more support despite the ample supply of mages, revealed just how much mana they had used, and that in turn reflected the horrendous number of undeads in this area.y73Poi
LO2IF■▬▬■■▬▬■▬!!!TrTp
ga3K■■▬▬■■▬■▬!!!KpBUuWc
E9KMZ7d■▬■■▬■■■▬▬!!!rjw
qHAMEven from the center of the battalion where she was, Miruam could see the horde of undeads filling the sight as far as the eye could see.H2jR7DX
qgIpNThe enemy was neither an army, nor a group of living creatures that feared death. Each and every one of those undeads were pouncing forward at the living regardless of their individual fate.Nq5LC
46ktJust how many undeads were here? No-one could be sure because they couldn’t possibly count all of them.lgkL4h
nVJNZ2The ‘dragon’ that Korin Lork had talked about hadn’t even appeared, and yet things were already looking hopeless.2iU
nXvKl5“Fuu… I wasn’t expecting it to be to this degree.”4HUrjE
2qTfMiruam had been thinking that she had a rough grasp on how strong Tates Valtazar was, but this far exceeded anything she had imagined.1wKM
blmHe not only stole light from the entire world, but was also having a place full of undeads as his base.QK3
RaI8cLThis didn’t feel like anything a human could possibly contend against. Miruam felt like a helpless human who had been tossed into the middle of a mythology.QQzRew
Le1n9N– Kuaahk!PgWAi5Y
ilCXt2– M, make the golems come up! Stop them!XDIVo1S
ZCq– Damn it! My weapon’s not working! We don’t even have mana or aura! What are we supposed to do!?1LSo
v7qz“At this rate…”m99b4N
K4XfzGZThis battalion was going to be wiped.lJy
HL6G5kpDespite the number of soldiers in their army… it didn’t matter. Numbers had no meaning in this pandemonium.KcFuw
oVXxOwThe only ones that were relevant were the select few knights and mages who could make use of aura and mana, and the few troops that had magic resistance armors.iGH
6fp9‘If so…’3ei
1DSShe did have a last resort.eZI4VO1
4kDBdUbHowever, that would result in a sacrifice too big.UrWKJ
lJw8or4At the very least, Korin Lork would never accept such a turn of events.U5qbN
vjHql‘I’m not Korin Lork,’ she told herself.FIWlWv
u4yLfSShe was neither as powerful nor as kind as Korin Lork. The Princess Miruam, who used to make irrational and proactive movements, and was constantly urged by vengeance was no more.Fma9V
dfIeTOeWhat was left was a royal princess who only went by logic and rationality.heTtj
x8EA“Your Highness. If you make the decision… we can start any time.”mYwhgA
HUn“…”t6t
bNRW4Miruam bit her lips as one of the commanders encouraged her to make the decision. He too, appeared to be thinking that there was no way out of this situation.kr1aeu
9dDmSacrificing the few for the many – no matter how she thought about it, that was the correct decision to make and was the most reasonable and logical choice, but…ufQCG5
GSuupk“…”m1rH
NkLJnCMiruam could sense the desires for survival from the eyes of the executive officers near her.I2p0
snPThey too were only human. They were no hero, and were mere humans who could only come to the same decision whether they tried to think rationally or emotionally.6FzKGO
JGUIJJQ“Wait…”xtch
7V4GWHowever, that was why Miruam had to represent the other side. She knew that everything would immediately cross the line of no return the moment she agreed to their hope.UPa
iDE“Let’s wait a little bit more. It’s… too early to give up.”qcLQg7
YbOn0Saying that, Miruam poured her mana into her staff, which increased in size until it became an enormous serpent.qu7wNo
7Ct1mwMidgardsormr. She was able to control it to some extent by herself after hatching the Serpent of Apocalypse.GPwpB7
l4fsROf course, it was itching to devour its owner any time, so Miruam had to tread carefully.tey
SSI“Go.”KVL
qWo3The gigantic serpent charged forward. It should be able to suit its title as the Infinity Serpent that could devour anything, and last until her mana ran out.fU8ar
zj3Np2– Kyaaaaah…!0ozRWMQ
u0cMsHowever, it was obvious that her mana would run out first before the serpent could wipe out the endless horde of undeads.adbVK
7UEShe didn’t have Marie to supply her with mana either so… Miruam bit her lips thinking about the bleak future.MYFMm
EeePV“Korin Lork, you stupid husband… Hurry up and help me.”0Xx
vYJ6w1mPerhaps her wish had made it through. Suddenly, blinding light started to expand all the way from the middle of the darkness.pnj
aoyqKkD‘Light? No, this is…’POEBui
BoLmHBLight had been extinguished by Valtazar, but the darkness that replaced it was being chased away by radiant sunlight.Q9s
aZT“T, the Sun…”Mvsdl63
QU2X“That could only be one person…!”OVYAwEX
4zDLt■▬▬■■▬▬■▬!!!HdLU1
xegt9■■▬▬■■▬■▬!!!QC1
UiVGZE■▬■■▬■■■▬▬!!!AzXREAB
CCwKThe innumerable mobs of undeads shrieked and burned under the sun. The cleansing aspect of the Sun didn’t allow these wicked creatures to defile the lands any longer and scorched them down.06o
YvEUUNumbers were meaningless.rR1
lNK3FA few moments ago, they had thought the same thing and their thoughts did not change.GvJp
IJGXBut this time, it was to their favor.fAV
xVl– Clomp clomp!VErO23v
SN7HY6One single man was slowly walking forward with the dazzling Sun chasing away the darkness from behind.s0GQ2e4
CRiThe living, who were moments away from being swept away by the flood of undeads, all turned to their savior who had come to their rescue.oGDMV
DgTGHow?C7NI
CJcxBmHow could that man nonchalantly walk through the endless crowd of undeads?tRCNE
oWp“Apologies for being late.”i9Smg
ByhgXLtWith the arrival of the Sun, the undeads had to retreat.aF36ZK
c7hIn the eyes of the soldiers, he was the God of Sun.Br4gr
JFR77c****lJ4H
f18p7WiThe Sun was above them.i20
6ZXwp4XThey were so grateful for what they had taken for granted their whole life, and the soldiers couldn’t care less about their skin that was slowly being scorched from direct sunlight.tNLY8
4hajRi9“It looks like there’s been a lot of casualties.”mCnhhq
XwBr1“Are you okay? I heard the roots of the World Tree absorbed divine energy,” Miruam asked.BGztiE
P2BhIn response to her question, Korin shrugged his shoulders and replied.2ckWIS8
kvMnsTh“The soldiers will become uneasy if I canceled the Sun now. I need to force it up for the time being.”DE3Zw
2xv4AIThe energy consumption of Sun Manifestation was coupled with the energy suction of the World Tree, but Korin still decided to keep the Sun up in the sky.Pffs
zwWFor the past three days, this army had to confront the endless waves of undeads without even having the time to rest properly.kE8
Z1l8efThese soldiers who had confronted their shrieks, screams and curses, deserved a good rest.04l5hU
uG0LXj“Don’t push yourself too much.”uQi4z
OBpNll“Are you worried about me? I’m glad. Thank you, Your Highness Miruam.”skJLc
ENH7s“‘Miru’.”QRN3
fgFQ“Hmm?”QNswi
uDXXF9“‘Miru’.”2uh
Agm4“Your Highness Miru?”USpeg
svC2DjGWhen Korin rephrased the way he referred to her, Miruam returned a smile that was devoid of any toxicity.v3Xn4T
ZhyH“So… did you come by yourself?”8rWjCu3
5Qn“I’m the only one that could walk through those undeads, after all.”zxXzB
HMZIbLu“Thank you for coming, but frankly speaking, you alone won’t be able to save us from this. That Sun… you can’t keep that up indefinitely, right?”bsKTmqA
YwQrzKorin didn’t deny her conjecture. At best, he would only be able to keep it up for another four hours. That was the limit despite the buff he was receiving from the well water of Mimisbrunnr.Bp7E8WR
z7u“We had a plan.” Miruam said.Raph
kmlsrU“A plan?”w5dOC
VuteG17“Yes. This army is practically powerless at this point. Although we do still have knights and mages, the regular soldiers can’t participate in combat anymore.”o3kErr
nOgrHAt this rate, they were all going to die. As such, Miruam and the executive officers saw the bleak future ahead of time and had come together for a plan.K8C
nFJ“What was the plan?”dF0SubA
G6D0“…It’s simple. Grouping up the few mages we have left, we will carry out a ‘group teleportation’. The coordinates… will be set using Josephine Clara’s marker.”q5X7f3
gP830Choosing to join another battalion because they won’t be able to break through alone was a reasonable choice, and a natural course to take if possible.N5ineg
o1QbYHowever, there was a flaw to the plan that was so obvious anyone could see let alone Korin Lork.r26859Y
jEcf“…There’s no way that will be able to cover for everyone.”IDwHi
Ok1q“You’re right.”NpNo
7UPIHearing her acknowledgement, Korin understood what the plan was, and couldn’t help but frown.bBDz
WObMiruam didn’t bother decorating the plan with flowery words. It was a realistic measure to address a real problem.Urnsh
436“There are 6,300 of us left. The number of people we can take with group teleportation is less than half of that.”1Jn8
YyjRhIn other words, that meant the rest would be discarded.C2v
5H5And the ones being discarded would naturally be the weakest of the group.wLc
What did you think of this chapter?
Report comment
Please select the reason for reporting this comment. False reports may result in account suspension.
0 Comments
There are no comments yet. Be the first!