Ch. 118 - The Kokoro Tribe Village (2)

Chapter 118: The Kokoro Tribe Village (2)

Since the dawn of the age of magic, over a thousand years had passed. Yet, there were still vast and numerous uncharted topics which couldn’t be conquered even by the mages.

‘What lies beyond that sky?’

‘Is time-reversing magic theoretically possible?’

‘Can mana particles be observed?’

And so on.

Even now, countless uncharted fields were being explored by magic scholars, but as is characteristic of unknown realms of study, answers seemed elusive.

And even in such a magical society, there was something that remained particularly mysterious: dungeons.

What are dungeons?

Unlike Persona Gates, which borrow the power of the inner world, dungeons are a unique phenomenon that occur ‘naturally.’

All such dungeons shared a single common purpose.

‘Once you enter, you cannot escape until you destroy the core that maintains the dungeon's form.’

Unlike the Persona Gate, which required one to achieve specific objectives, it was genuinely straightforward.

When one cleared a dungeon, he would get a permanent upgrade in the level of his abilities or an increase in maximum mana capacity.

Since it also offered rare rewards that couldn't be bought with money, every mage in this world looked forward to entering the dungeons.

Baek Yu-Seol was no exception. Although he lacked mana, he could still hope for increases in other auxiliary abilities.

Moreover, it was possible to come across artifacts; ancient relics from a distant ancient era.

They were different from the 'items' developed in the current age, so visiting dungeons was highly recommended if one had the chance.

Of course…

Dungeons couldn’t be discovered just anytime.

Even an ordinary place today might become a dungeon the next day, or its entrance might open if special conditions were met.

Dungeons were truly unpredictable.

As a result, it wasn't particularly strange that a student from the prestigious Stella Academy had discovered something which couldn’t be easily found by even professional ‘treasure hunters.’

“A dungeon, huh. So, it’s just the three of you?”

Instructor Hanwol carefully examined the ‘Dungeon Expedition Application Form’ submitted by Baek Yu-Seol and asked.

Ma Yu-Seong, Hae Won-Ryang, and Baek Yu-Seol nodded.

"Yes."

"The three most attention-grabbing individuals going on an outing. Be cautious as paparazzi might follow you."

Baek Yu-Seol hadn't experienced such a thing in games, so he didn't know, but in reality, somewhat famous mages enjoyed popularity similar to celebrities, and paparazzi did follow them at times.

Perhaps it was due to Ma Yu-Seong and Hae Won-Ryang's extraordinary talent and sculpted features that surpassed human norms; they had been receiving significant attention since their first year.

"Especially Baek Yu-Seol."

"Yes?"

"You should be especially careful.”

“Be careful of what?"

"Didn't you hear what I just said? Don't get caught up in unnecessary trouble with the paparazzi. Just focus on clearing the dungeon quietly and return."

“...Don’t you usually give us some words of wisdom at times like this?”

“Wisdom? Just handle it.”

He was kind of cold, but he used to care about Baek Yu-Seol back in the day.

"Anyway, try to return by the weekend at the latest. If three days pass, we'll send a rescue team."

"Understood."

Starting from the second year, you could receive special missions, allowing you to skip classes for a whole week if needed.

However, as a first-year, Baek Yu-Seol couldn't do that since they were considered young chicks.

Anyway...

So, the three of them set out on an outing with dungeon exploration as their mission.

On weekends, whether it was staff or students, there was usually a considerable crowd heading out.

So, they left early in the morning and quickly made their way to the Warp Hole Gate and exited.

The Warp Hole was indeed a convenient mode of transportation, but unlike Earth's KTX, it wasn't available everywhere, so the primary means of transportation in Aether World were still airships and trains.

Especially since their destination was quite remote, they had to transfer trains quite frequently, and Hae Won-Ryang was a big help here.

"If we use this tickets, we can directly access Adelza's platform without having to change trains on the 17th Red Lines.”

"Oh, really? Let's go with that then."

"This train doesn't go all the way to the final station, so it's better to leave it. It would be better to reserve separate seats. The boarding experience is much better with their company service."

"Uh... Let's do that then."

As they rode Aether World's trains, Baek Yu-Seol realized that South Korea's subway system was remarkably convenient and straightforward.

In contrast, the Aether World's train system was like a spider's web.

Compared to the modern world, where there were apps to tell you when the train would arrive or how to transfer for the shortest route, here, you couldn't even think about finding the shortest route without substantial knowledge.

However, for some reason, Hae Won-Ryang seemed to have an excellent grasp of the train system.

Out of curiosity, Baek Yu-Seol discreetly checked Hae Won-Ryang's information through his specs.

Among the details, one feature stood out prominently.

[Secretly a Train Enthusiast…]

...He’s quite a remarkable friend. While pretending not to be, he enjoys a peculiar hobby. He would go wild if he saw Thomas the Train Engine.

The information recorded in the spec varied depending on gender.

Even though the game had been reduced into a typical RPG where one battled monsters, it remained a ‘romantic dating simulation for women’ in essence.

There was a lot of information recorded about the preferences of male characters.

‘Hmm…’

While changing trains, they waited on the platform, and an awkward silence enveloped them.

It was understandable since the three of them weren't friends at all.

Ma Yu-Seong and Hae Won-Ryang had a rivalry relationship, and rarely engaged in personal conversations.

Baek Yu-Seol also felt quite awkward around Ma Yu-Seong when Eisel wasn't around.

Using the information from the spec, he attempted to break the stalemate, even if just a little.

"Hey, they sell tteokbokki over there. Are you hungry? Want to have some?"

One of Hae Won-Ryang's traits was that he really liked food from street vendors.

However, he also had the common character trait of not eating it often due to the self-proclaimed ‘elite’ status.

"... I'm good."

As expected, Hae Won-Ryang refused with an air of ‘I don't eat such low-quality food,’ but Ma Yu-Seong happily nodded and smiled.

"I'd like that. I've always wanted to try something like that."

"Is that so?"

In response to Ma Yu-Seong's answer, Hae Won-Ryang shook his head disapprovingly as if he was rather pitiful.

"Well, if the majority agrees, I guess we can't help it."

With that, Hae Won-Ryang was probably secretly pleased with himself.

So, they ordered tteokbokki, sundae, and fish cake skewers and had a hearty meal.

It was not a peaceful meal. During the meal, a slight argument arose about what should be used to dip sundae.

"Sundae should be dipped in tteokbokki sauce. Don't you have a tongue? A mouth? To think that the heir of the Great Full Moon Tower has lost his sense of taste. Heaven must be disappointed."

"Sundae should be dipped in salt. It's a food meant to be eaten that way."

"Hey, you guys. Sundae tastes delicious when dipped in soy sau..."

"Just shut up."

“You shut up.”

In any case, Hae Won-Ryang, who acted all cool and did things his own way without many words or humility, didn't quite match his personality.

Anyway, after some back and forth, they were finally able to board the last train.

[Train to Mestel]

[Tozmic Train]

[Last Compartment]

Finally, they arrived at their destination.

Not just any destination, but the very entrance to the dungeon itself.

It was connected to ‘Tozmic Train’s Last Compartment.’

As mentioned before, the creation of dungeons was unknown, without rhyme or reason.

No one knew why an entrance to the dungeon [Korokoro Village] was generated in the last compartment of the Tozmic Train.

When Baek Yu-Seol used to play the game, it was just a hidden place, but now that it had become a reality, he could just accept it as a natural phenomenon.

‘Now, I can finally take a break…’

There was still some time left until the entrance to the dungeon would open, so he closed his eyes.

—

The Tozmic Train consisted of a total of nine compartments. It wasn't a particularly large train to begin with, and there were few passengers going to Mestel.

Given the low passenger count, those boarding the Tozmic Train were quite scarce.

Azmik Kostalin hummed a tune and applied black nail polish to her nails. Her man named Kalaban, who was sitting next to her, spoke with an annoyed expression.

"Azmik, the smell is terrible."

"Just endure it a bit. I had to use seven nails to hunt down a magical warrior in a previous battle, so I have no choice."

“Always doing annoying things...”

Azmik and Kalaban.

At first glance, one appeared to be human, and the other looked like a dwarf, but in reality, they were dark mages who had given their souls to the otherworld.

Azmik was feeling unusually good. Ever since she could infiltrate human society, she had started to enjoy human culture, and traveling by train was one of her hobbies.

However, her partner was just annoyed.

"I want to catch and devour at least one magical warrior."

"Are mages really that delicious?"

"At least more delicious than beasts. They use their heads and manipulate mana even as they're about to be devoured. Do you know how fresh that living mana is?"

"Um, I don't know!"

As if she would know.

Azmik was a vegetarian.

Ding!

A vibration echoed from Azmik's chest, who was quietly applying her nail polish. She couldn’t put down her nail polish, so she asked.

"Can you take it out for me?"

"I don't want to touch your disgusting body."

"Heh, too bad."

With no other choice, Azmik put down her nail polish, and took out a small square box from her pocket.

When she opened it with a clink, space warped, and words appeared in the empty air.

“Azmik, Kalaban.”

"Yes, yes!"

“Report your current location.”

"Hmm, let me see..."

Azmik gazed out the window silently. Then she said, "I can see trees and mountains outside!"

“… Don't joke around.”

“She said we’re going on a trip to Mestel.”

“Then you must have boarded the 'Tozmic Train.' What's the exact train number?”

"Train number 1097."

This time, Kalaban answered.

Then, a message appeared a few times as if showing the satisfaction of the sender, and then it was edited.

“You're lucky. I'm sorry to disturb your journey, but it's a mission from the Moon Shadow Church. Crash the last compartment of the train right now.”

"Huh? Why?"

“There are three Stella students on that train.”

"Really? But is it worth sending a mission from Moon Shadow Church just to capture Stella students?"

“We don't know. It might be a special Stella student on board. In any case, if you successfully complete the mission, we'll add an extra week to your vacation. Good luck…”

Click!

As soon as the communication ended, Azmik excitedly said to Kalaban, "Did you hear that? An extra week of vacation!"

"But they won't give us an extra bonus."

"It's an entire week of vacation!"

"I get it, darn it. Let's complete this quickly and come back."

Kalaban stood up, revealing his massive body, and cracked his neck while muttering.

Even if Stella students had extraordinary talents…

They were just students in the end.

They might not be of much value, but Kalaban hoped they at least tasted decent as he followed Azmik to the back of the train.

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