79 – Episode 79: Clockwork City (6)
The Black Star Massacre.
The mercenary named Cain was the first to spread the rumors about him.
He said,
There was a mercenary who broke through the Black Star Dungeon as easily and single-handedly as eating cold porridge.
At first, everyone dismissed Cain as crazy.
Because there was no conceivable way such a person existed.
Even a Swordmaster who could fly, or a Grand Wizard, could lose their lives in an instant if they let their guard down in the Dungeon.
A person who randomly broke through the Dungeons, which were notoriously difficult to the point of giving up on strategy?
It sounded preposterous.
But not long after, news of the conquering of the Black Star Dungeon spread across the Southern Continent.
This became an agenda item at the mercenaries’ meeting.
Literally, across the entire Southern continent, Black Star dungeons were being destroyed inconsistently.
At first, it seemed as if the dungeons were collectively weakening, but that was not the case.
Every single one of them was being smashed by an anonymous conqueror.
The name for this mysterious figure, decided in the mercenary meetings,
was the ‘Black Star Slaughterer’.
After the existence of the Black Star Slaughterer was proven,
the treatment of Cain completely turned 360 degrees.
The girl with a pale face showing a stoic ‘V’ sign, asserting she was the Black Star Slaughterer,
insisted that she saw it herself persistently.
However, it was revealed through monster corpse research that the Black Star Slaughterer was a sword-using adult male.
After that, Cain was treated as a fool, instead of a madman.
‘That’s him.’
A man who exudes an oppressive atmosphere just by standing silently.
The vice-captain had a gut feeling,
The mysterious mercenary targeting Black Star dungeons and then vanishing.
That the Black Star Slaughterer was this man right in front of him.
“Let’s shoot one more, just in case.”
“… Uhm.”
With a blast.
Without any hesitation, the girl reached out and fired another fireball into the tunnel.
A flame that looked like dragon’s breath was shot out, and the tunnel was illuminated for a moment before darking again.
The only thing left inside were fragments of a completely shattered and melted down clockwork doll.
Nothing was moving.
At this, the mercenaries were taken aback.
No matter how much the mercenaries scorned magic as something for bespectacled noble scholars to study,
This time, they couldn’t help but shiver.
“Your affiliation. Your name.”
“Yes, sir! Ophelia Knights! Vice Captain, Tess!”
The man muttered as he turned his back.
At his icy gaze, the deputy quickly lowered his eyes and hastily responded.
He was under no obligation nor had any reason to respond.
His mouth moved involuntarily.
“The Ophelia Knights?”
“A new name established by the 3rd princess of Gallia Kingdom after recruiting mercenaries…….”
“No wonder I haven’t heard of it. That’s enough. Get out of this dungeon. You’re in the way.”
“Yes! We’ll do as you said!”
With a bow.
The deputy, without hesitation, bent his waist and gave a salute.
None of the members felt embarrassed about this.
It was only natural for them to follow the deputy’s lead and bow.
“Aha.”
The man, about to turn and enter the tunnel, stopped.
And then slightly turned his head, parted his lips.
The deputy and all the members, in tense anticipation, swallowed their saliva and paid attention to the man’s voice.
“I am not the Black Star Slayer.”
‘He’s definitely the Black Star Slayer.’
He was unmistakably the Black Star Slayer.
The silver-haired girl next to the man with pale skin, as Cain had said, must have been a colleague of the Black Star Slayer.
This would somewhat soothe Cain’s resentment.
“And, I’ve observed you guys fighting. You fight very well.”
‘Does he mean we fought horribly?!’
The deputy’s face turned deathly pale.
The words somehow seemed loaded with underlying meanings.
The persuasive voice of the Black Star Slayer sounded as if it was ironically warning.
“Continue to work hard in capturing the Black Star Dungeon.”
‘It means don’t set foot in the Black Star Dungeon ever again!’
His meaning was understood.
These insignificant beings like us, in an outrageous manner, had entered the Black Star Dungeon and had been miserably dying.
“We’ll keep that in mind!!!”
It was a warning and a notification from the Black Star Annihilator.
‘A warning that the Black Star dungeon is all mine, so it’s better you petty creatures don’t interfere.’
As the deputy commander and the members, they could only interpret it that way.
“Wow, we’ve actually seen the Black Star Annihilator in person.”
“Did you see his face? You were the closest, deputy.”
“No, it was snowing…”
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“We couldn’t either…”
“At least this will make a good story over drinks.”
The mercenaries sluggishly left the dungeon.
Admittedly, they’d failed to capture the dungeon and even suffered insults.
Oddly enough, they didn’t feel too bad.
.
.
.
‘They were more skilled than I thought.’
To be honest, I didn’t take them seriously at first.
But seeing how calmly they reacted to the unexpected situation, I changed my mind.
They’re truly worth the elite title.
In short, it’d be a waste if they died here.
That’s why I pulled them out and spared their lives using Telekinesis.
In the process, I had no choice but to reveal my face…
They didn’t seem to think of me as the Black Star Annihilator.
The Black Star Annihilator is known to be a skilled swordsman.
But I didn’t even unsheathe my sword.
Also, I didn’t forget to ask them to try harder on the Black Star dungeon challenge.
Such competent guys need to step up more and clear the Black Star dungeon.
That’s how I can stop fretting.
Considering their hearty ‘We’ll remember this!!!’ response, they’ve got the hint.
The attempts to conquer the Black Star dungeon are sure to intensify now.
How satisfying.
“Hey, worm! Are you still alive?”
“I’ve died!!!”
The moment he screamed into the tunnel…
From behind the rocks, the Worm Fairy revealed herself, slight tears hanging on the corner of her eyes.
A moment ago…
To check the current situation inside the tunnel into which the mercenaries had entered, she had divided herself and sent out her division.
Thanks to that, she was able to find out that there was an emergency inside.
And after pulling out all the mercenaries, she had the unknowns shoot a fireball…
Seems like someone was left inside and ended up dead.
Should have avoided it well.
“What are you doing firing while I’m still inside!”
“It’s just a division anyway.”
“Even though it’s a division, it hurts! It hurts, you know! And if the division dies, I become weaker! It gets more difficult for my body too!”
“Oh.”
The crying Worm Fairy lets out a loud squeal.
Looking at it, she really seems to have gotten a little shorter.
She now looks even shorter than the unknowns.
‘Do I keep getting smaller the more my divisions die? Until I become a newborn?’
Despite these questions…
He decided to leave it as a mystery.
“As the tunnel is cleared, let’s move forward now.”
“Are you out of your mind? An unidentified machine jumps out and you still want to keep going?”
The Worm Fairy freaks out.
Born from a monster, there was no reason for the Worm Fairy to fear monsters.
So in essence, those spring dolls weren’t monsters.
‘Long-abandoned spring dolls?’
Once popular spring dolls that disappeared without a trace suddenly.
They should have been discarded and ended their lives in the incinerator…
Yet, for some reason, these scrapped dolls are moving in this dungeon.
“It’s creepy.”
“You’d risk your life because it’s creepy?!”
“What? You think we’re going to die?”
“Stop making ominous predictions!”
Throughout the 12th round, I thought this dungeon had no boss mob.
I didn’t even know about these wind-up dolls.
There are still secrets here that I don’t know about.
When it’s creepy, the right thing to do is to keep digging.
I found Kali that way in Elvenguard too.
It’s disgusting to regret after the fact, knowing that the Four Heavenly Kings were in this dungeon and I left them be.
“Let’s get going now.”
“Yes, I told you before.”
“Yeah. Let’s go, okay?”
“Why do you keep saying the same thing?”
“You have to lead us.”
“What?! Do I look like I have spare lives to spare?”
“Well, technically you do have an extra life. You can create a clone. That’s what you should have done.”
“What the heck did you hear?! It hurts even when the clone dies! My ability is not creating illusions, it’s literally dividing part of my body!”
The nun Jiniesue kept protesting, tears and snot all over her face, probably hurting from MiJoung’s fireball earlier.
Eventually, though, her spirit flagged.
She must already know.
No matter how much she resists, she ends up doing it.
“Done whining now? Then let’s take the lead.”
“You brute! Abuser! Human rights violator!”
“A monster has no rights, human rights.”
“…If you give up… It’ll be easier…”
“What do YOU know!!!”
In the end, Jiniesue split into two after some hesitation, her body melting down.
After taking a deep breath, the original body retreated behind me.
The avatar trembles as it steps forward.
Even though it was supposed to do so eventually.
The problem is this one is excessively timid.
“Uh, umm. That thing. What is it?”
At the moment of entering the tunnel and taking a few steps.
The leading avatar stops.
And there stands the avatar, shaking and pointing ahead.
“It’s a mechanical arm.”
“Ah, it’s not moving, right?”
“It’s not moving. It’s not moving.”
“Ho, ho-ho. It’s too scary…”
“Why are you like that? Did you eat something wrong?”
“No… I’m always like this…”
But there’s something odd about the avatar’s state.
Constantly welling with tears, a crestfallen expression.
Looking at it like this, it seems as fragile as a nun.
“It’s due to my characteristic. My split avatars have one of my emotions amplified. In this case, it’s fear.”
“Ha, of all people… me… It’s scary…”
Beside the nun, stands an unsatisfied woman glaring at the avatar.
Seeing them like this, the difference is stark.
The original body is rugged, like a thief who has borne the brunt of the world.
This avatar stirs a certain desire to pick up, feed, put to sleep, and spoil, like a tender-hearted girl.
Thus, the personality of each avatar differs so greatly.
It makes me want to see what the other personalities are like.
“Oh…”
“Your gaze is lewd. I wouldn’t bet against you being a despicable being.”
“What did I do?”
At this rate, with the avatar in its current state, progress will be slow.
Should I absorb it back and create a new split on the spur of the moment?
“Hey, avatar! Just transform into her and go!”
“Uh…okay.”
“Do you become less frightened when you transform into a dung beetle?”
“In my dung beetle form, my vision is severely limited. If I can’t see anything, then I won’t be scared, right?”
“….”
I hadn’t thought of that.
In no time, he turned into a gigantic dung beetle and started to quickly navigate through the tunnel.
The speed really increased significantly.
‘What on earth is the Boss Mob doing? I have no idea.’
This is a dungeon where undead-category monsters appear.
So at first, I suspected one of the Four Heavenly Kings, the Necromancer, was behind this.
But seeing all these wind-up dolls popping out, it’s clear the Necromancer isn’t the one.
After all, he doesn’t have the power to control machinery.
Then there’s nothing else to consider.
‘That voice earlier, it sounds familiar.
The mechanical sound that echoed from inside the tunnel.
That sense of familiarity won’t leave me.
Even if it was a woman’s voice I know, there aren’t many I could think of.
Jill, Yulia, Yerina, Cornelia, Alicia, Mia…
Huh? Why does it seem like there’s a lot more than I thought?
“Hm?”
Thud.
Something catches my foot.
I pick it up and under the light of my multi-purpose torch, it is a metal plaque.
– Clock Tower Completion Commemorative Plaque of the Wind-up City
– Construction Manager Kern
Since this came out, it means I’ve reached the end of the tunnel.
It serves a role similar to a milestone.
“The final room is close. The tunnel’s end is near, so prepare for anything. You never know what might pop out.”
“…Okay.”
This is where the Clock Tower of the (old) Wind-up City originally stood.
Under Kern’s leadership, the clock tower was successfully completed.
A grand completion ceremony was held, attended by the mayor.
However, an accident happened on the day of the ceremony.
The clock tower’s interior mechanism malfunctioned, leading to an unexplained explosion.
The explosion shattered the clock tower, sending it crumbling down the cliff.
Many people, including the mayor, were injured.
And that incident was what made Kern fully retire.
“Hmm…?”
The narrow tunnel ends.
A spacious room appears, bathed in bright light.
I was a bit tense because I thought the boss woke up…
“Is it empty?”
The inside is incredibly deserted.
Only the large, beautiful Dungeon Core lies exposed in the very center.
It’s exactly the sight I’ve seen in the past.
“There’s no way it’d end like this.”
“Ah why do you have to be so nervous! It’s good if it ends quietly! Hey, split-soul! Go pull out that Dungeon Core! Let’s finish it quickly!”
“Uh, uhm…”
This is supposed to be the last room.
If the boss isn’t here, where could it be?
I’m going mad with unease.
Then, the split-soul, transformed back into a nun, breaks into a run and touches the Dungeon Core.
“Huh? Wha?!”
And at that moment,
The entire dungeon shakes fiercely, a deafening rumble is heard.
It feels just like when a dungeon collapses.
Is it an earthquake?
“Ahhhhh!!!”
“What…”
Just then, the floor under the split-soul shakes.
Up, up it ascends endlessly.
Something rockets into the sky, stirring up clouds of dust…
It took a while to realize.
“A clock tower…?”
Indeed, what emerged from underground was a clock tower.
But where the clock should be…
A massive eyeball squirms.
“Whaaat! Please get me down!!!”
[Hate…Hate…Hate…]
The moment we locked eyes…
Chills ran through my whole body.
Then, I recognized the owner of this mechanical voice.
“Linda. It was you.”
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Seems like I’ve discovered the boss’s true identity.