Chapter 6: Pleiades (6)
Terms used in this chapter:
Hwa-byeong – a Korean somatization disorder or a mental illness which arises when people are unable to confront their anger as a result of conditions which they perceive to be unfair. It is something that is unique to the Korean culture.
Fine play – Japanese and Korean baseball slang. Players usually say this to their teammates if they did well or had an excellent performance.
Jude couldn’t move at the sight before his eyes.
For a moment, he forgot how to breathe.
The being in front of him was huge.
Despite the fact that it was kneeling and crouching, the being’s hideous bat head reached the ceiling.
The wings on his back drooped and covered the entire floor, making his presence clear.
Red Moon Leisegang.
The Demon Prince who coveted blood.
He was incomparable to what they saw in the game.
His appearance was the same, but the feeling of intense pressure they felt in his presence made it different.
His limbs were bound.
Chains that seemed to be thicker than Jude’s waist covered the entire body of Leisegang.
But despite that, Jude felt afraid of him.
Just by meeting him face-to-face, Jude felt like his own existence was trampled and crushed.
“Get a hold of yourself!”
Suddenly, Cordelia shook Jude’s shoulders.
Unlike Jude who couldn’t properly handle mana because of his Gueumjulmaek, she was a wizard, even if she was only a one-star wizard. She then put the necklace she had hurriedly prepared on Jude’s neck.
“Are you okay? Can you hear me?”
It was a magic tool that slightly raised one’s magic resistance.
She had brought it just in case, but she now thought that it was a good thing that she did. Jude’s eyes began to regain its focus.
“Cordelia?”
“Yes, it’s me! Don’t lose your consciousness! Are you okay?”
Jude blinked his eyes. He took a deep breath. He gulped as he could feel the enormous presence behind his back.
“Red Moon Leisegang…”
He was real.
The mighty Demon Prince was in front of them.
‘We can do it.’
Jude thought. The seal of the sun god was still working. Bellastin’s magic circle was also playing its part.
Their given time was around 3 minutes.
Bellastin’s magic circle wouldn’t be able to hold out any more than that.
“There it is. Over there, on the waist.”
Cordelia said in a very nervous voice.
It was in Leisegang’s waist.
To be exact, the Sun’s Necklace was hanging on the handle of the sword that was on his waist.
“Huu…”
Jude let out a breath before he gulped in nervousness.
Leisegang’s eyes were still closed.
He fell asleep on his own to endure the time he was trapped by the seal, but since the seal itself was being maintained, he did not seem to realize that he had temporarily come out.
‘It’s a chance.’
He only needed to take the Sun’s Necklace and then immediately release Bellastin’s magic circle. Leisegang would disappear from his sight by then.
‘You can do it. You can do it.’
It was the moment when Jude took a step forward.
“Hey.”
“Heuk-?!”
When Cordelia suddenly reached out and held his shoulder, the startled Jude let out a strange sound, surprising Cordelia so she jumped back but managed to suppress her scream.
“You scared me!”
“Because I was really surprised!”
Jude wondered why did had done that all of a sudden.
When Jude looked at her, Cordelia swung a baton that was slightly shorter than her forearm. At her action, the baton expanded by five times in an instant.
“Here.”
It was not magic, but a baton that could be pushed inward to shorten its length.
Jude was puzzled for a moment, but soon understood Cordelia’s intentions.
“You want me to use this to take that?”
“Wouldn’t it be better than directly taking it yourself?”
Her idea was definitely better.
Jude gave a sincere look of gratitude, and Cordelia snorted while feeling pleased.
In any case, time was ticking along in the midst of all this.
With the baton, Jude crept to the side of Leisegang.
“Here it goes.”
He stretched out the baton which then reached Leisegang. Jude used the baton to poke between the strings of the necklace and lifted it carefully.
“Good, good. You’re almost there.”
Cordelia very quietly spoke as she nodded and gulped in nervousness.
And right after that.
The moment he finally took the necklace out of the handle!
Jude was frozen once again. The same was true of Cordelia this time.
And the two almost instinctively raised their heads and looked up high..
The Red Moon Leisegang.
He opened his eyes.
His shining red eyes was revealed as he glared at Jude and Cordelia.
One second passed like that.
No, it felt like an eternity.
“Take it!”
“Run!”
Cordelia and Jude shouted almost simultaneously. Jude quickly withdrew the baton and greatly retreated. He grabbed the Sun’s Necklace that came down along the baton.
[You b*stards!]
Leisegang shouted.
He opened his mouth, and his roar shook not only the seal but also the entire cave.
Jude stumbled and fell.
Leisegang strengthened his arm in order to grab Jude.
Kaduk!
But there was a chain.
The seal of the sun god was still tightly holding down Leisegang.
“Hurry up!”
Cordelia yelled. Jude stood up as he staggered, and Leisegang opened his mouth again.
And at that moment.
Jude once again witnessed an incredible sight.
A small light burst.
In the open mouth of Leisegang.
To be exact, an arrow of light flew towards the mouth of Leisegang and exploded.
The most basic attack magic that 1-star wizards could cast from the beginning.
It was from Cordelia.
No, it was from Yellow Storm.
At the moment Leisegang tried to attack Jude, her deepmost instinct as a fighter was triggered.
“Hey! Crazy…?!”
Jude tried to shout loudly but was then startled and blinked his eyes. And so did Cordelia.
“Level…up?”
Cordelia was enveloped in a ring of white light.
It was clearly the level-up effect they had seen countless times in Legend of Heroes 2.
“Ah.”
Cordelia exclaimed.
And then she shouted again. Jude shouted with her this time.
“Ah!”
They understood it.
It was an embarrassing situation, but the two who were rotten water immediately understood the current situation.
Though they were rather confused, the two quickly understood the current situation since they were rotten waters.
Levels existed in Legend of Heroes 2.
However, for NPCs of Legend of Heroes 2, the status window did not exist, so they had to go a place like a level temple in order to measure their level.
In any case, the important thing was that the concept of levels existed in this world, and it was also possible to become strong through leveling up.
So why did Cordelia level up at this moment?
‘Combat experience.’
It wasn’t necessary to kill the enemy in order to gain experience. The act of attacking the enemy itself could gain experience points.
Of course, the latter was far too insignificant when compared to the former.
But in Cordelia and Leisegang’s situation.
It was like a 1-star wizard who had just began playing the game had then faced off against a mighty demon who could only be dealt with in the second half of the game.
There was a massive difference in levels.
He was originally an opponent that a beginner could never even attempt to attack.
But that was the reason why the combat experience was amplified!
[You scums!]
Leisegang roared in anger again. But he was still bound by the chains and could not move.
Therefore, Cordelia and Jude looked at each other and understood it the moment they exchanged glances. The fact that had made their gamer brains start to turn.
“!”
Cordelia brightly shouted as she fired a magic missile.
Her face was filled with joy instead of fear.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of magic missiles exploded. The weak magic was just ticklish for Leisegang, but an attack was still an attack.
“Oh yeah!”
After firing three more missiles, a white ring appeared again around Cordelia’s body.
It was the second level up.
“I, I will level up too!”
Outboxer009’s gamer brain suppressed his fear. Missing out on getting such level up points was unforgiveable for Outboxer009.
“Here it comes!”
Jude narrowed his distance to Leisegang at once and swung the baton like a sword.
“Ugh!”
He had swung hard, but he felt like he had struck steel. The backlash seemed to have injured Jude’s wrist instead.
‘But as long as I level up!’
Even if it’s painful-
“Huh?”
But nothing happened. No white rings appeared around him.
“How come… Ah!”
Like rotten water, Jude soon figured out the cause of the problem.
It was the reason why Cordelia burst out laughing too.
““It’s too weak!””
It was the truth.
Jude was too weak.
Jude’s attack was so weak that it was not even recognized as an attack on Leisegang.
It didn’t even literally tickled Leisegang!
[Which scum dares to…]
Boom! Boom!
Leisegang’s voice was dwarfed by the sound of the magic missiles’ explosion.
Cordelia laughed and created another round of magic missiles. She did not hesitate since the seal of the sun god had proven itself to be active.
“Oh yeah! Level up!”
Cordelia once again leveled up.
So the impatient Jude thought over and over again.
He couldn’t be left behind like this here. He had to somehow make an effective hit to gain combat experience.
But how will I do that?
What should I…
“Bingo!”
Jude habitually shouted as he threw the baton and clenched his fist, grasping the string with the decorative part of the necklace on top of his fingers.
“May the great sun god Solari’s blessing be with us,
O Sun that illuminates the morning,
O Light that drives the night away,
Arise,
Let thy fire light at my fingertips!”
As he recited the prayer for the sun god Solari, the necklace of the sun god began to shine in a golden color.
The effect of the prayer recited by Jude was naturally insignificant since he was neither a believer of Solar nor had much mana.
But even so, it was the power of Solari, the sun god who destroyed and burned monsters and impurities!
“Haaa!”
Jude ran and struck Leisegang’s shin with his fist.
Just like Cordelia’s , it was only a ticklish attack for Leisegang, but an attack was still an attack.
“Level up!”
A white ring appeared in Jude’s body.
And Jude could feel it.
It was only a little, but he felt that he had become stronger.
His overall physical abilities rose.
[These vermin!]
Leisegang roared again, but Jude and Cordelia did not stop. The rotten waters’ desire to level up overweighed their fear at that moment.
“Time is running out!”
“Just one more shot!”
Bellastin’s magic circle had a three-minute time limit.
Cordelia created magic missiles while drinking mana potions, and Jude sweated as he swung his fists like a boxer hitting a sandbag.
[Keuaa! These bugs! I’ll remember your faces! I’ll imprint your souls into my mind! On the day I am released! I’ll let you suffer pain worse than death – these vermin! Listen! Listen to me!]
Jude and Cordelia did not listen to his. They only had 10 seconds left.
They had to hit one more before the opportunity passed.
And 10 seconds later.
A fifth ring rose simultaneously around Jude and Cordelia.
Cordelia was the first to attack, but because Jude was completely a level 1 due to his Gueumjulmaek that hindered his activities, his experience gain was better.
Anyway, 10 seconds had passed, and the effect of Bellastin’s magic circle was gone.
As the space began to close again, Leisegang vented his anger as he glared at Jude and Cordelia.
[Vermin! I’ll definitely see you again! Watch my words!]
“Yeah, see you again at Act 7.”
“It was nice meeting you, so see you again next time.”
When Jude and Cordelia laughed and waved their hands, Leisegang, who was close to having Hwabyeong, gasped and closed his eyes. If his limbs had been free, he would have caught the two by the scruff of their necks.
And light shone again.
The golden color symbolizing the sun god Solari filled the seal, and the Red Moon’s Leisegang disappeared again at the other side of the space.
“Haa.”
“Huu.”
When Leisegang’s huge presence disappeared, Jude and Cordelia both sighed. And then they burst into laughter at the same time.
“Ha, seriously. I’ve always known it, but you’re a seriously crazy b*stard.”
“Well, you’re not sane either.”
Even if Leisegang was sealed, she ignored the warnings of the great demon and attacked him.
Jude and Cordelia looked at each other again and cheerfully laughed.
Anyway, their quest was a great success.
“Is your Gueumjulmaek healed now?”
“It will take some time, but I’ll eventually get better.”
Unlike the Sunfire Carp, the Sun’s Necklace couldn’t cure his Gueumjulmaek at once. Because the excessive Yin energy that blocked his entire meridians had to be melted away little by little by the Yang energy of the Sun’s Necklace.
But that was enough. It was clear that he would then get better from today onwards.
“Please be cured.”
“Yes, yes. When I get better, I’ll carry you, I’ll let you hit me, and I’ll cross the walls of your house.”
“What is this crazy b*stard saying?”
Cordelia had a small smile and she stretched her arms once before she suddenly pumped her fist forward.
It was one of the actions the characters would do when they completed a quest in Legend of Heroes 2.
So instead of sitting down, Jude walked towards Cordelia. He then lightly bumped fists with Cordelia.
“Fine play.”
“Fine play.”
It was a little childish, but they did it like in the game.
Jude and Cordelia faced each other and smiled.
Not only did they get the Sun’s Necklace as planned, but they also raised their levels by 5, so it was a great success.
“Let’s go now.”
“We’ll get scolded a lot, right?”
“We’ll definitely be scolded.”
Even if they were engaged, an unmarried young man and woman had gone on a midnight – no, a daytime runaway because they wanted to have some time alone.
“Eueu…”
Cordelia’s shoulders drooped in her worry, but Jude put his arms over Cordelia’s shoulders.
“Wha-what are you doing?”
“Please carry me.”
Because he was very exhausted.
Cordelia was dumbstruck for a moment before she asked with a stupefied expression.
“Didn’t you level up?”
“Why do you think I’m still asking you for a piggyback?”
“Fine.”
Cordelia laughed as she gave Jude a piggyback ride, and the two began walking again.
And that night. Having returned home, Jude and Cordelia were grounded for 10 days.
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