Chapter 231

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Translated by Jinmu
Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net
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[Main Quest #7 has been completed.]

[The reward has been paid at the maximum upward adjustment according to the contribution and exceeding conditions.]

[Obtained 50,000,000 gold.]

[80 Stat Points have been given.]

[Experience points have increased by 120,000,000.]

[Level has increased by 3.]

[3 Stat Points have been given.]

[The progression rate rises.]

The settlement messages continued for a long time.

And the moment he finished the distribution of stats.

Huuuk—

A gust of wind wrapped around his whole body, and the scenery before his eyes changed.

「Welcome.」

Kwareureung—!

He had returned to the Island of Thunderstorm.

High Spirit Aerial was in the center of the forest where thunder echoed.

「That’s gone now, isn’t it?」

Her gaze headed over Han-bit’s shoulder.

He knew that she meant Dusk.

“Did you leave him be on purpose after all?”

「It was fun because he was so tense, and I was interested in the Investigation Team Commander. So I attached some wind to him.」

Aerial said while lightly bouncing the wind wrapped around her hand.

Investigation Team Commander Charlotte von Sinclair, who handled Space Swordsmanship.

He had memories of hearing why she was interested in her in the past as well.

‘She was an out-of-the-ordinary human indeed.’

Charlotte was an existence who unconsciously created an area where the power of wind did not reach.

Because of that, the methods for Aerial to obtain information were significantly limited.

Naturally, whether it was wariness or interest, it was bound to arise.

“I think I could just arrange a conversation for you though.”

「That child looked like one of the Investigation Team Commander’s closest aides. Both spirits and humans tend to place trust in the time they’ve spent together. It would be good if we could share a conversation about the source of power.」

Aerial’s interest was clear.

The source of the Space Swordsmanship used by Investigation Team Commander Charlotte von Sinclair.

There might have been curiosity about the person herself, but ultimately, power was the most important factor.

“Where did High Spirit Tonatio go?”

Han-bit asked while recalling the invisible High Spirit of Electricity.

Then Aerial spoke while looking at the lightning surging from the sky.

「He says he’ll find the culprit, but it’ll probably be difficult. It seemed even the state of the Greater Spirits was hard to know.」

Tonatio, who was at the peak of the attribute, could grasp the state of the lower-tier spirits.

Normally he wouldn’t even have paid attention, but as much as his pride was hurt, his state of mind had changed as well.

But it seemed as if he couldn’t feel anything from the disappeared Greater Electric Spirit.

「I’ve conveyed the story of the Holy State and the Sacred Body Faction kids you mentioned. The rest will be Tonatio’s business to handle on his own.」

Aerial, who was stretching, did not show much interest.

No matter when he saw them, they were High Spirits who really had no interest in each other.

“Understood. We’ll probably move outside of Nephelis starting from today, would that be alright with you?”

「Fine. Where is the first destination?」

At the mention of leaving, Aerial’s eyes changed.

Han-bit, who checked the clock, said while looking outside.

“We are going to the World Tree.”

***

“Black Dragon-nim!”

“Have you come!”

As he moved near the central fortress, the twins and Ping-pong welcomed Han-bit.

The few players seen in the surroundings only watched while being cautious and did not easily approach.

“They’re staring a lot. Even though they won’t even be able to touch us now.”

“I think the fact that they don’t know what happened inside is big.”

Haneul growled while facing the gathering gazes, and No-eul watched the situation calmly.

Certainly, ending the broadcast right after the greeting with the High Spirit seemed to have had quite an impact.

Scanning the surroundings, Han-bit turned on the Recorder and started streaming.

-Oh.

-Hi hi

-Is live possible today?

-1 viewer who already gave up.

-Let’s just do a Sacred Body Faction guest seat?

-Offline go go

-Let’s go with fists fairly.

Viewers started filling up the chat quickly.

Worry about whether he could maintain the broadcast properly was seen the most.

It was not easy because of the continuously changing situation, but there were situations where it was actually better to turn it on.

For example, like yesterday when he used the broadcast to draw players into the dungeon.

“There will be times when I adjust the transmission sound, but I will try to proceed with the broadcast on as much as possible.”

-Real?

-Is it okay?

-Didn’t you see yesterday? The Sacred Body Faction kids were annihilated. haha

-High Spirit true education.

-But what about Black Dragon?

-Did he contract by any chance?

-Is a one-shot-one-kill of top rankers possible?

The chat was mixed with speculation and hope.

Misunderstandings weren’t bad either, but Han-bit spoke while shaking his head.

“I was kicked out too. A contract with a High Spirit is still difficult.”

-Too bad

-High Spirits are too OP indeed.

-Difficult ‘still’.

-It’ll work later.

-Patiently waiting thump thump

-Something big is coming.

Viewers once again expressed expectations as they pleased.

Although High Spirit Aerial was accompanying him then, a direct contract was a different story.

Because the task of truly drawing out the entirety of the main body outside the area was an impossible story under normal circumstances.

“Anyway, please know it as such. I’ll proceed with today’s broadcast. Let’s go in.”

Han-bit headed toward the inner part of the fortress along with the three people.

NPC Investigation Team members were seen everywhere.

Unlike yesterday, the number had clearly increased.

Slig—

Around the time he got close to the stairs, the hooded man appeared before his eyes.

“Follow me.”

“?”

The atmosphere of the man, who turned around after throwing out those words, was somehow strange.

It was clearly different from yesterday when he had spewed out questions and wariness.

Jeobeok—

Han-bit’s group, who went up the stairs and headed to the upper floor, moved inward along the hallway.

The place where Dusk stopped was in front of a small room in the corner.

The door there was already open.

“Ah, you’ve come.”

Investigation Team Commander Charlotte von Sinclair, who was sitting at the desk, raised her head and showed a faint smile.

It seemed to be because of the search of Area 8-35.

“Please sit for a moment. I have something to process.”

Having guided them to the table seats in the front, she continued with the sealing while scanning the documents placed on the desk.

And when about five more minutes of time had passed, she let out a sigh and put down her pen.

“Sorry. You waited a lot, didn’t you?”

Charlotte, who stood up from her seat, joined them at the table.

She did not have the physical ability to feel fatigue, but she had an expression with many worries in many ways.

“More than that, what happened with the dungeons? According to Dusk, you cleared as many as 11 and even entered the area of a High Spirit. I was so surprised that I added it as a danger item within the Investigation Team, you know?”

“?”

Charlotte’s words were somehow strange.

It felt like the content was somewhat lacking to say she had heard a report.

‘No way.’

Han-bit looked at Dusk who stood guarding the back.

But he remained silent and did not show any reaction.

As he was not a human who would betray even in a million to one chance, it was an unexpectedly surprising situation.

Han-bit, who pondered for a moment, decided to go along with the flow for now.

“I was lucky. Small pieces of knowledge were helpful too.”

“I don’t think it would work with just small pieces of knowledge… Anyway, I’m glad it ended safely. I’ll have to conduct an investigation on spirits too.”

Charlotte’s relieved voice was sincere.

As much as that good personality was not a lie, the wariness of the people who assisted her became thicker, though.

Han-bit, who scanned Dusk once more, went into the real main topic.

“What happened to Area 8-35?”

“…It wasn’t good.”

Charlotte, whose expression turned clearly dark, dropped her gaze.

She looked as if she was somewhat discouraged.

“Did all three people die?”

“The bodies of two were discovered. I haven’t found Heilen yet, but seeing the severed arm and the broken equipment, the possibility of survival is… honestly low.”

Three Investigation Team members had headed to Area 8-35.

Two of them had died, and Proctor Heilen had gone missing.

It was not an ordinary incident for an Investigation Team member to die in a place that was not an uncleared area.

“The culprits?”

“They didn’t leave traces to an extent that it was perfect. Even to the point of erasing all the mana within the bodies.”

“That’s… difficult.”

Despite the fact that the Investigation Team Commander and Ibella had gone there personally, they could not grasp the situation properly.

This fact was quite shocking to Han-bit as well.

He suspected the Sacred Body Faction, but the reason was difficult to speculate.

“What about Ibella? Is she staying on that side?”

“She sent only me first, saying she had a bit more to investigate. We could have just done it together…”

Charlotte expressed her dissatisfaction timidly while fidgeting with her hands.

Worry for Ibella, which was not even needed normally, was felt together.

Probably she was trying to investigate the people of the Sacred Body Faction.

“Commander, it seems you should depart soon.”

Then, Dusk, who was scanning the slumped Charlotte, delivered words cautiously.

“Yes.”

Nodding her head, she turned her gaze toward Han-bit.

Then she asked with an even more serious expression.

“You remember… the promise?”

“I have no intention of feigning ignorance. Since I was planning to stop by the World Tree myself too.”

“Look. Didn’t I say he was trustworthy?”

Charlotte turned her head abruptly and looked at her escort.

Then Dusk said while staring into Han-bit’s eyes for a moment.

“Yes. It seems I misunderstood. My apologies.”

“I tell you, Dusk has too many worries. Now… it can’t be helped, though.”

Charlotte had become gloomy like a stream of consciousness.

The shock of losing Investigation Team members did not seem likely to lift for a while.

Of course, she was not a person who would mess up what she had to do because of that emotion.

“Don’t misunderstand. I said I’d visit the World Tree, I didn’t say I’d return the branch.”

“I know. Because one cannot expect only good results.”

Charlotte nodded, saying her thoughts had changed from the start.

Han-bit, who was looking at the shadow of Area 8-35, asked while checking the time.

“How are you going to move without Ibella?”

“I’ll use a flying ship. With my power, the distance is a bit ambiguous.”

“…Use a flying ship?”

Han-bit opened his eyes wide at the unexpected word.

The only ship that flew in the sky existed in the world.

Taking out a flying ship from the Investigation Team was a too-rare thing.

In the first place, it was also a giant magic tool whose operation itself was impossible if it wasn’t for someone like Charlotte or Ibella.

“Then shall we depart right away?”

Ttiring—

[Main Quest #8: Flying Ship]

Shared a conversation with Charlotte who returned to the Investigation Team.

The World Tree, which must be checked even in a chaotic situation.

You must go to the center of the ocean along with her.

Objective: Board the flying ship and move to where the World Tree is.

Reward: None

*Current Progression Rate: 80 percent

Han-bit checked the message that popped up immediately.

Although it was not to the extent of transition magic, the flying ship was also a considerably excellent means of movement.

He was not worried at all about the sky path that carried risks.

As it was a journey where not only Aerial’s power dwelling in Sylph but also Charlotte, one of the world’s strongest, were together.

“Good. Let’s go right away.”

“We’re going to the back of the island. Come this way.”

Han-bit’s group, who stood up from their seats. followed behind Charlotte who left the room first.

Meanwhile, another alarm rang in his ears.

Ttiring—

「Kim Jae-ha」

「The work is finished. I’ve sent everything, so check and contact me.」