Chapter 234. The Great Seal (4)

Roaaaarrr!

‘Uaaaa.’

Flame Warrior-V made an expression full of fear as he looked at the infected soldiers who were being swept off after being turned into dust.

Countless infected soldiers were crawling around but they were moving towards the entrance down to the 2nd floor at a constant pace as if they did not pose any threat to them.

Of course the thing that caught his attention was the red light on Sharon Stiller’s sword.

Every time the red light exploded out, it felt like the entire maze got lit up.

Flame Warrior-V looked at the weapon with envy.

‘I heard the weapon itself changes when one used S rank Spirit Stones on them.’

A weapon which he couldn’t even dream of having.

At the same time Flame Warrior-V got curious.

About what exactly was their objective below.

‘…Would she answer me if I asked her?’

If she was going to hide everything from him, she wouldn’t have brought him along in the first place.

“Uh…By the way, why are we going down? Is there a reason for us to head out with this large of a scale?”

Sharon stiller pondered as she looked at Flame Warrior-V for a moment.

‘Hmm. I did hear that this guy’s abilities were quite good.’

But there was an issue.

‘This guy belongs to Michael Dawson’s branch… Am I allowed to tell him?’

The Anteater clan was led by two clan leaders.

Himura and Michael Dawson.

They had gotten together in the beginning because they didn’t like bug players and in order to hunt them down.

But as the size of their organization grew and they became a clan which was comparable to the 10 great clans, the opinions of the two started to diverge.

Himura stuck by the roots of the Anteater clan and put his focus into killing the bug players.

He said that everyone gathered in this clan had come to kill the bug players and needed to continue hunting them.

On the other hand, Michael Dawson said that they have expanded enough so they needed to now focus on finances.

Since he felt that it was a waste for such a giant clan to invest such a large amount of money in killing bug players.

Both sides were correct.

Though Exodus was a game where they could have fun, it was also a world which gave them the chance to earn large amounts of money.

And according to what Sharon Stiller knew, Flame Warrior-V was neutral but still a bit closer to Michael Dawson.

Since he was indeed interested in earning money.

And herself and the Scarlet Demons were with Himura.

The Scarlet Demons was a hunting team which Himura invested a lot of money in to create.

Sharon Stiller spoke up to that point and cautiously continued.

“This is as much as I can say. If you want more then you have to join our side.”

Since she had heard that he was quite capable, it wouldn’t be bad to work together.

Since once he signed the contract he would keep the secrets even if he needed money.

“Mmm…”

Flame Warrior-V nodded after a brief moment of thought.

‘I’ve been… Marked from the mistake this time. It might be better for me to cling onto another rope at this point.’

As Flame Warrior-V nodded, Sharon Stiller made a content expression and spoke.

“This is information that is hard to come by so listen well. Even out of the Master Players, only those who are interested in the history of kingdoms know this.”

Sharon Stiller then looked around her surroundings.

“Do you know who created this maze?”

Flame Warrior-V looked at her with a confused expression.

What was the name of the maze?

It was the Great Maze of the Ains.

Obviously the Ains on the 5th floor made it, who else?

Sharon Stiller laughed as she looked at Flame Warrior-V.

“You think that the Ains made it right?”

“…Didn’t they?”

Sharon Stiller shook her head.

“Hmm. You aren’t wrong. Half correct.”

“Mmm?”

Sharon Stiller continued to laugh.

“It’s as you said. Well, the humans made it but the curse of the Ains is laid on top of it.”

Usually, cooperation would be a case where both parties were content with the result.

But this cursed maze was different.

The humans and the Ains hated each other and they fought, this structure was the result of it.

A giant maze which pressed down the Ains but at the same time despised the humans.

The grave of people and the place where the Ains are sealed.

“This is why we’ve been able to come in by trading with the Kingdom. They don’t like coming in here. Because of the curse.”

“Curse?”

“You saw on the way here. The corpses.”

“Ah…”

Flame Warrior-V realized.

He figured out how the infected soldiers on the 1st floor had been created.

“It seems they not only lose their powers when they come in here but the Ains apparently attack them as well. This is why they let us in instead.”

“Hmm…”

Flame Warrior-V didn’t know what had been traded but he understood the situation.

The Scarlet Demons would do what the Kingdoms had trouble doing.

And the Scarlet Demons would also take care of their business while they were in here.

Then.

Sharon Stiller looked around at the ground for a bit after coming down to the 2nd floor through the blue maze and then smiled.

“Found him. Let’s go. I’ll tell you more later.”

“…Mmm.”

Thinking about it, he would figure out why he had followed them in later anyway.

Flame Warrior-V used his skill and started to follow the others.

***

Ain.

The delegates of the Spirits.

The race who had been crushed down into the maze and could not come out.

Kamiyou asked Hansoo,

“He told me this when I met the Prophet in the past.”

“What did he say?”

“He said that one day you and the others would come to help him and the other Ains, he told me to guide you guys well.”

Hansoo shrugged his shoulders at these words.

“How do you know I am him?”

“I was curious so I asked as well. But the answer was simple.”

— If you feel that when you see him there would be nobody else who you had seen or will see would be more befitting then that man is the one. In the prophecy, his appearance is all but destruction and blood.

Kamiyou chuckled as he thought of these words.

Blood and destruction.

There were no adventurers who were strangers who these things.

This is why he had thought that it would be hard for him to find the man.

‘For him to appear in front of me.’

He realized the moment he saw Hansoo.

That nobody else would fit the prophecy better.

Kamiyou looked at Hansoo and smiled as he spoke.

“It seems correct right?”

“Hmm.”

Hansoo shrugged.

It was quite similar to him indeed.

Kamiyou spoke towards Hansoo.

“I was curious. How you would help us and the Ains. Will you help us separately? Or is the thing you’re trying to accomplish beneficial for all of us? After thinking about it, I came to a single conclusion.”

The thing the Ains dearly wanted.

It was to leave this cursed seal, the Great Mazed.

And his goal was to get revenge against the cursed people who had trapped them here.

“So, you’re probably here to release the seal. The one on the 4th level.”

People thought that the Great Maze lead all the way up to the 5th floor but that wasn’t the entire truth.

The maze the humans had built stopped at the 4th floor.

The floor below, the 5th floor, had been created by the Ains.

So the Seal existed in the deepest part of the Maze, the 4th floor.

In a mysterious corner that nobody had been to.

‘Probably only the magic brigade who laid down the seal knows where it is.’

No player knew where it was.

So Kamiyou was curious as well.Wondering how the man in front of him would find it.

And another thing.

‘…I’m not sure if it’ll help us.’

The Ains being unsealed wasn’t necessarily good for them.

It wasn’t like they were going to fight for the adventurers.

The Ains despised the Kingdoms and the countries who had trapped them.

But they didn’t hate the players.

And he and the other adventurers despised the players who massacred their friends and family.

But in a sense, they didn’t hate the kingdoms and countries who were in a similar situation.

According to the prophecy of the Ains, helping this man would be beneficial to the Ains and in result would be beneficial for them as well but nobody knew how this would play out.

And Kamiyou wasn’t the only one to think this way.

A swift-looking beauty next to Kamiyou spoke towards Kamiyou.

“Mr Kamiyou. How could you let these people into the village with only a prophecy!? The Scarlet Demons might chase us down at this rate!”

Well, only the Scarlet Demons finding them wouldn’t be bad.

But if the players rush in while the Scarlet Demons buy time then they would all get massacred.

And for just a prophecy?

The woman, Einchel, did not believe in those words.

If there indeed was a Prophet and he could see the future, why did they lose to the humans?

After their loss they had been trapped within the maze and had become something which only dropped Protection Elixirs when killed.

Knowing the future and preparing for it was the same as being unbeatable.

If they had a prophet then how did they turn out like that?

Kamiyou shook his head at Einchel’s words.

She was right.

The best thing to do might be to hide in here until the storm went past.

But the last words of the prophet were on his mind.

— When the storm hits, the only safe place is in the center. The eye of the storm.

‘Ugh… What do I do? How much should I help him?’

The feelings that came from the Prophets felt too real for him to ignore the words.

Since if the prophet’s words were true then he should take everyone from the village and go with Hansoo but then they would collide with the players.

On the other hand, if he were to help the least possible then he could just tell them the ways to the secret portals below.

Kamiyou started to ponder while staring at Hansoo.

***

Flame Warrior-V couldn’t hold onto his curiosity while running with the Scarlet and Golden Demons and asked,

“Uh, what is the thing we need to do for the Kingdom?”

‘Is it related to the blue pouch from before?’

As Flame Warrior-V mumbled while thinking about the blue pouch she had received from Krancheska, the leader of the Magic Bridgade.

Sharon Stiller laughed as she replied,

“We can do it slowly. It’s not like it’s hard.”

“Huh?”

“Well. They did seem hurried but that’s their issue. We can deal with our issue first right? We can do it after we finish with our job.”

“Then what is the thing we have to do?”

Sharon Stiller started to open her mouth and Flame Warrior-V, who had finally been able to hear what they had to do, focused his hearing.

Sharon Stiller spoke,

“Mmm. If you had a secret farm with animals…And if the entire farm was about to turn into a wreck what would you do? If it’s a situation where you can’t keep them anymore?”

“…?”

“Shouldn’t you turn them all into minced meat? Before you lose everything? Or before others find out? Oh, I found it.”

Sharon Stiller found the traces here and there in the Maze and started to hum.