By Zephyria “But Eternal Stones are really hard ores, aren’t they? The hardest substance in the world, to the point where nothing can damage it.”
Why else would it be called an Eternal Stone? Because no matter how much it was heated to extreme temperatures, doused with all sorts of chemicals, or struck with great force, it wouldn’t wear down or get scratched even a little. It was a substance that defied scientific explanation.
“…That’s right.”
Yoon Seung-ryong’s expression became complex. He, too, understood what Yohan was trying to say. Seo Yakrin turned her gaze away from the Black Mountain. Joo Ho-young, who had been turning on his Game Console, put it back and looked at Yohan. A hypothesis that had just occurred to him caused Yohan’s brow to furrow.
“Then, can the Eternal Stone, meaning the Black Mountain, erode that hard rocky section?”
“Uh… wait a minute, is that so? Could it… be possible?”
Yohan’s words sounded quite plausible, and everyone’s gaze turned to Lee Hyun-muk. Seo Yakrin asked in an impatient voice.
“Are we going to the Black Mountain, Team Leader?”
“Hmm… Yohan said he’s scared to go there.”
At Lee Hyun-muk’s words, Yohan’s face flushed. The others nodded in agreement, as if thinking, ‘If Yohan is scared, then it can’t be helped!’ Feeling like a child throwing a tantrum, he became extremely embarrassed and blurted out.
“No, I am scared, but! If there’s a possibility… we can at least take a look, right?”
“Yes, Yohan is right.”
Lee Hyun-muk said in a gentle voice, as if he would agree even if Yohan claimed soybeans could be made into meju. It felt a bit like he was teasing… He seemed to consider Yohan’s hypothesis seriously, then said to Seo Yakrin.
“Yakrin-ssi. Would you like to go one more time? To get to the foot of the Black Mountain, we’ll need a path, won’t we? At least we should find out where that path is.”
“Got it. I’ll go and come back right away!”
As Seo Yakrin and Joo Ho-young got up to leave immediately, Yohan urged them to rest a little before going, trying to dissuade them. He was concerned about Seo Yakrin’s display of Madness earlier. They had indeed pushed themselves a bit too hard, as the two accepted Yohan’s plea. After resting for a few days, fully recharged by Yohan’s purification, Seo Yakrin returned with a surprisingly concrete answer.
“Go to the giant puddle.”
Hearing those words, Yohan instinctively knew. It was time to leave the Reed Sea and move to a new area.
At the mention of the giant puddle, everyone except Yohan seemed to know exactly where it was. As Yohan looked around, bewildered, Lee Hyun-muk explained with a smile.
“There’s an area where a large salt lake is located, perhaps a part of the sea that was moved. There are no other places that could be called lakes, so it must be there.”
“A salt lake?”
Yohan asked in a worried voice. By now, he knew this Abyss well. It was certain that terrible monstrous creatures would inhabit it, just like in other regions. But his worries were fleeting, and he thought positively.
‘As long as it’s not a Flood, it’s fine!’
He was with Lee Hyun-muk, Yoon Seung-ryong, Seo Yakrin, and Joo Ho-young. Excluding Go Jae-won and Lee Chan-ha, there were as many as four members of the Sunrise Team. Each individual’s abilities were also incomparably stronger than before they fell into the Abyss. Moreover, if a Flood occurred, Yohan could step in, making it a near-perfect combination. Three Dealers, one Supporter. There was no Tanker, but instead, there was Yohan, a Purifier in the Healer class.
“Well, it should be fine! There are five of us now!”
As he beamed with pride, Lee Hyun-muk, who had been watching quietly, gently stroked his head. The other team members also casually patted his head as they passed, leaving Yohan bewildered.
After collecting as much food as possible and packing precious fruit and vegetable seeds, they left the Reed Sea, where they had stayed for quite some time. Perhaps because Seo Yakrin was with them, neither Bone Birds nor Flesh Birds bothered them. In fact, they were hard to even spot. Recalling how Seo Yakrin had used the birds to her will when fighting her corrupted self, Yohan asked curiously.
“Noona Yakrin, can you still control the birds?”
“Haha, no! Now they remember my aura and don’t approach me. But I can still do this much.”
Seo Yakrin burst into laughter, put her finger in her mouth, and let out a long whistle. Then, Flesh Birds popped out of the ground in a swarm, looking around in confusion as if they didn’t know why they had appeared. Seo Yakrin quickly bound the Flesh Birds with a golden Psychokinesis net she had laid out beforehand and shouted.
“Lunch ingredients for today collected!”
As they moved on, eating the easily hunted bird skewers for lunch, the reeds and grass that had reached their thighs gradually lowered and became sparse. Crossing the wasteland that lay between regions, Yohan cast his gaze towards the Black Mountain.
‘The blotches are increasing even more….’
For the first time in the entirely black, dirty, and red Abyss, another color appeared. Bright, pastel-colored splotches were minutely, but steadily, expanding their territory day by day. Yohan hoped that this change would manifest in a positive way.
The salt lake was located quite far away. The wasteland was truly barren, so they had to pass through nearby areas. They spent nearly two months traveling from the Reed Sea to the salt lake, stocking up on food and water in a region called the High Mountain Area. It had already been a year since Yohan fell into the Abyss.
‘My family… they must think I’m dead by now?’
In just one year, his life on Earth felt like a distant past. As he unconsciously slumped his shoulders, feeling dejected.
“Yohan-ah.”
At the touch of a hand gently calling his name and wrapping around his shoulder, Yohan looked up to see Lee Hyun-muk pointing somewhere.
“That’s the salt lake.”
“Wow…!”
Yohan’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open. Then, he swallowed hard and muttered.
“It really… doesn’t look like a place I’d want to go near.”
Perhaps because it was a part of the sea that had been moved, the salt lake was vast and expansive, not resembling a lake even from this distance. It looked like a pool of dark, shaded stagnant water, but it wasn’t the lake’s size that frightened Yohan. A thick fog shrouded the area near the lake, and ominous shapes writhed and disappeared beyond the mist. Faint, ear-splitting shrieks could also be heard. While thinking it was just how the place was, Yoon Seung-ryong scratched his cheek and said.
“No, why has this place changed so much?”
“There wasn’t fog before, was there?”
Joo Ho-young also seemed uneasy, subtly putting his Game Console into the bag Yohan was carrying. The fog was so dense that the ground was damp and muddy. Lee Hyun-muk and Seo Yakrin also stood still, staring intently into the fog, which made Yohan’s fear grow. Soon, Lee Hyun-muk gave an order.
“Our vision is too obstructed. It’s best not to approach the lake closely.”
“What a shame. I thought we could have some sashimi after a long time.”
Yoon Seung-ryong said jokingly, but he scanned the inside of the fog warily. Following Lee Hyun-muk’s instructions, they walked keeping as much distance from the lake as possible.
“Ugh, that fishy smell…”
Joo Ho-young, who had a weak stomach, grimaced in disgust, almost gagging. A strangely cloying and unpleasant breeze flowed from the lake. Combined with the fishy smell, like fish that had rotted beyond preservation, Yohan also covered his nose with his sleeve. Even keeping their distance, it was this bad; if they got any closer, they wouldn’t be able to breathe properly.
“Ho-young-ah, come here.”
Yohan created a round sphere of light that enveloped the group. Instantly, the fishy smell vanished, and a refreshing, clear air filled the space. Lee Hyun-muk, who had been silently enduring the terrible stench as if he had no nose, also looked more relaxed. He examined the shimmering sphere of light and said.
“Yohan-ah, the smell doesn’t bother me, so don’t push yourself too hard.”
“This much isn’t very difficult. The range is small, too.”
It wasn’t a lie. After creating a large dome-shaped Purification Field in the Reed Sea last time, his confidence in using his abilities had grown significantly. He truly didn’t feel a significant drain on his energy from this. Seo Yakrin, whose mood had recovered from the stench, walked briskly but then stopped.
“What is that?”
Something strange jutted out from the ground. It was shaped like a hand reaching straight up towards the sky, holding a sphere. But the moment it moved and looked at them, they realized it wasn’t a sphere but an eye.
The next moment, the hardened ground cracked open, and a giant monster burst out from within. The monster bared its sharp teeth and charged ferociously. Only after seeing its entire body could Yohan deduce the monster’s original form. It seemed to be a mudskipper.
However, unlike a regular mudskipper, its size seemed to far exceed that of an orca. Its skin was slick and dripped with strange mucus, and its eyes bulged out, reaching straight up towards the sky. Something, whether sweat glands or mucus glands, exhaled disgustingly.
Meeeek, meeeek! The hungry monster mudskipper charged, making a ridiculous bleating sound like a goat. But suddenly, a golden mist grabbed its tail. The moment its bulging eyes confirmed what was behind it, Yoon Seung-ryong’s spear sliced off its head. Blood poured down like a waterfall from the gaping wound, and after convulsing a few times, the mudskipper collapsed.