Chapter 2) Wet Land

The wind was blowing everywhere. The river shook and flooded. Water overflowed and made the ground even wetter.

Shwaaaaah!

Showers of rain fell from the clouds.

“Now I’ve called them so I just need to wait and see what changes.”

Weed waited with Yellowy as rain fell. In Royal Road it was very refres.h.i.+ng and fun to run around in the pouring rain. It was common to see hunting parties move soaking wet from the rain.

Taverns and restaurants were crowded on rainy days but there were still beginners hunting in the vicinity of the gates. The rain falling on people engaged in business at the market or conversing around the fountain gave the city a romantic aura.

-How fascinating, fascinating.

– Shall we stop and go back?

-No, let’s continue to play here. There is also delicious food.

Various species of plants and gra.s.s grew and spread through the swamp as the fairies played. The trees absorbed a lot of moisture through their roots and shot upwards. The shade of many trees caused lengthy shadows to stretch out.

The spirits played on the dry land while water creatures swam calmly. Reed fields forms and unknown flowers bloomed. Leaves on lush, overgrown trees turned red and fell to the ground. And snowflakes began falling from the sky.

“Winter has already come here.”

By the time the snow finished falling, sprouts started to rise from the land. Once again the hot sun shone, leaves fell and it snowed. The sun, rain, snow and leaves turned into a scrambled mess! Strange things like this often occurred around the fairies.

A long time was required for a swamp to form naturally but this period was reduced due to the fairies’ magic. There were at least 200 changing of the seasons. It quickly became impossible to fathom how many lives the plants in the swamp had lived.

“Ummoooooo.”

A swamp deep enough to reach Weed and Yellowy’s waist then they were standing on the rocks was formed. The appearance of the flowers blooming in the swamp was beautiful.

“The vitality of nature is showing so this seems to be a fairly decent work.”

The wide land had changed into a swamp but it wasn’t that bad after seeing the animals and plants living there. Numerous small life forms that he didn’t know the name of sat on leaves and swam in the water. A small water channel ran through the swamp that had fish skipping in it.

Birds cried out in the clear sky over the swamp. The surrounding birds flocked as the swamp was formed. The land in the whole vicinity shook. The rocks mobilized by Dirtman quickly formed layers of sandstone. The sandstone layers spread in all directions and completely changed the terrain of this place.

Hills formed the boundaries of the swamp. Weed marked a place where he would grow grapes later. The sandstone mountain area around the river and swamp didn’t stop there. Water flowed from the sandstone mountains and flowers and gra.s.s grew. The water fell from a high place and created a pool of water.

“This has become a completely useless piece of land.”

Weed thought it was a waste despite the land not belonging to the Arpen Kingdom. The sandstone gave an view that was like art but the problem was that he couldn’t collect taxes from it.

The changes caused by the fairies continued. Animals like crocodiles, aquatic insects and birds roamed. Beautiful yellow b.u.t.terflies flew around the flowers blooming in the swamp. Wind blew through the leaves and birds and animals cried out. The music of nature flowed through this land.

-Please set the name of the new sculpture.

“This is….Land filled with Despair, Lamentation and Regret.”

-Land filled with Despair, Lamentation and Regret is correct?

This name seemed too transparent.

‘A little….something simple and not so poetic should be fine.’

He decided to change the name of the nature sculpture.

“No. I’ve already committed so there is no choice. The name will be Wet Land.”

-Wet Land is correct?

“That’s right.”

Ddiring!

-Nature’s Magnum Opus!

Wet Land has been completed. A work where the sculptor took a century to form the nature sculpting!

A swamp filled with life. A sandstone area has been carved.

The sculptor knows how to use the power of nature to grow difficult and unusual trees from the fairies and the elves. The number of animal and plant species living here is at the scale of a continent.

This is a precious gift that the sculptor has returned to nature.

Artistic Value: 8,142

Special Options: Wet Land has given birth to new species of plants and animals.

Those who visit here will have their health and mana increased by 50% for one week.

All stats increased by 19.

Resistance to infectious diseases and poison has permanently increased by 1%.

The growth rate of animals in the surrounding area has been sped up.

All nature in the surrounding area will be purified.

Current number of Nature Magnum Opus created: 1

-The skill proficiency of Sculpting has improved.

-The skill proficiency of Handicraft has improved.

-Fame has increased by 4,093.

-Art stat has increased by 19.

-Wisdom has increased by 7.

-Intelligence has increased by 9.

-Courage has increased by 3.

-Affinity to Nature has increased by 49.

-All stats will gain an additional 3 points for making a Magnum Opus sculpture.

-Elves and Fairies will become friendlier.

He could feel the joy of being a sculptor every time a Magnum Opus was created. Weed had stacked up a lot of stats but the 1~2 points he got for every sculpture made a difference in battle.

“A sculpture offered to the land…”

Nevertheless, Weed felt regret about the loss of money.

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“I created a sculpture in the north with the help of the fairies.”

“It was a success. Nothing seems impossible for a sculptor like you.”

“Miracles can be created with the hands of a sculptor. I only thought about art when creating a natural ecosystem.”

Weed reported the quest in Rhodium.

Ddiring!

-Sculpting that has been Shaped over a Long Time has been completed.

The great sculptor Weed has revealed his genius in many areas. His works serve to defend justice and sometimes even represents an area.

-Fame has increased by 1,600.

-The skill proficiency of Sculpting has improved.

-Your evaluation in the Sculptor’s Guild has improved.

“Huhu.”

Weed had a light smile on his face.

‘If I continue succeeding like this then I will obtain the final sculpting technique and a large sum of money. One day I will stop counting every bit of money that comes in and will be able to spend it…’

“Uweeeeek.”

He couldn’t repress a rotten smile at the thought. The old man smiled brightly.

“If you have this degree of proficiency then I can talk about it. All the requests up to now was to test your qualifications. How well do you know the history of the Versailles Continent?”

“A little….I know.”

“Numerous adventurers have attempted to clear the continent’s 8th labyrinth…”

“Are you talking about the crazy Roderick’s Labyrinth where demons live?”

“You know what I’m talking about. As expected from a genius sculptor, you know about the history of the continent.”

Weed had no choice but to be aware of it.

‘The continent’s 8th labyrinth. A place I absolutely can’t go to.’

It was a completely dangerous place. The 8th labyrinth had been famous since the early days of Royal Road.

-Entering means death.

-Instantly.

-Maximum 1 minute.

All residents and people pa.s.sing by the 8th labyrinth would shake their heads. The requests related to it didn’t turn out well.

“My son entered Roderick’s Labyrinth…my son was a Royal Knight of the Norton Kingdom. I haven’t seen him after that day.”

The user asked.

“Do you want me to find your son?”

“Hyu, what? My son’s life ended there. Well, I just gave up.”

The residents were resigned about anything related to the 8th labyrinth. However the users couldn’t help their curiosity.

“I’ll go. A party of this standard isn’t common on the continent.”

When not much time had pa.s.sed since Royal Road opened, a famous party of level 200 users entered Roderick’s Labyrinth. They had already cleared other dangerous and high level dungeons. But they couldn’t help feeling greed at getting their names know for this challenging and highly difficult adventure. Each user had a certain amount of ability and was filled with confidence.

And the result was extermination!

-Failed. We all died in the vicinity of the 1st underground floor.

The standard of users continued to rise as time pa.s.sed and parties kept on challenging it. Level 300 and even level 400 parties died. The scary thing was that once they entered the labyrinth, it wasn’t easy to get out alive.

Not only did the 8th labyrinth have an large number of traps, the monsters in Roderick’s Labyrinth were abnormally high levelled. Furthermore, last time Roderick’s Guild had been challenged by a mid-sized guild called Morningstar.

A staggering 600 people entered and were all killed! The Morningstar guild failed the challenge, had internal conflicts and lost the city they ruled.

“Roderick’s Labyrinth seems to be too difficult for me.”

“No. So far you’ve accomplished all your task perfectly so I believe in you.”

-It isn’t possible to postpone or give up requests related to radiant beauty in the middle. Continue.

“The magician Roderick was an unusual person. He had the hobby of collecting different types of things and also really liked art.”

Weed thought it was too unreasonable but he still listened intently to the valuable information about Roderick’s Labyrinth.

“Roderick was a very strong magician and had a lot of curiosity. He was a genius who developed new spells and combined various types of magic. He was also interested in the sculptor’s research on how to express radiant beauty.”

The old gave a long explanation.

Roderick drank alcohol with sculptors and listened to their worries. There was significant progress on the research to express radiant beauty. Of course, the contents of that information was secret and only known to the partic.i.p.ants and Roderick.

“The sculptors studied out to express radiant beauty for a long time. Now there isn’t anybody left who knows the results of that study. Roderick was full of curiosity and lost control of something he summoned…it was very unfortunate.”

Originally Weed was very similar. He became arrogant and proud and walked the path to ruin.

‘I made the worst choice when buying the 200 won more expensive salt.’

The old gave took a deep sigh.

“He summoned a devil to study its power but a fight spread.”

“D-devil…”

“Roderick who studied magic realized he couldn’t win and closed off the dungeon to the outside. People could enter but it isn’t possible for them to leave…”

A video was shown in front of Weed.

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An old magician and devil fighting.

A terrible magic exploded from the staff every time the magician chanted a spell. The devil was frozen and burned with h.e.l.lfire. Its body had a long tail and black devil wings. Despite being attacked by terrible high ranking magic, it didn’t receive any large wounds.

The magician Roderick had a lot of human knights guarding him. A battle occurred and they greeted death as devil children were summoned. The odds gradually tilted until Roderick activated defence magic installed beforehand.

“With the force of the great mana gathered here, rearrange this distorted s.p.a.ce. Make this devil unable to forever enter the human world or go back to h.e.l.l.”

“It can’t be. Kueeeek!”

Roderick lost his life to the devil.

And the s.p.a.ce in the dungeon distorted due to his spell. If someone walked down a straight path then they would go to the wrong place. Countless number of side roads would appear and some would suddenly go down to the 2nd floor.

No one could find a door that led out of the dungeon. Once inside the labyrinth, it wasn’t possible to find a way out and people would die from the demons or traps. From that day onwards, anyone who entered the labyrinth wouldn’t be able to find the way out.

Roderick’s Labyrinth was made with unique magic, making it huge and flashy. Roderick had originally built it underneath a ruined royal palace.

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Weed remembered the broadcast he watched of the Morningstar Guild fighting in the labyrinth.

‘The video of them fighting with the demons was beautiful. The ratings were also quite high.’

To be exact, it showed the Morningstar Guild dying against a cool backdrop. Furthermore, there was Roderick’s welcome! The labyrinth was full of all sorts of monsters and challenges.

The reason for their presence was to reduce health. And there was a huge problem even when they disappeared after being killed.

‘They don’t drop any items….it really is the worst type of monster.’

The mutated monsters that Roderick studied were also freed and they had special magic to protect themselves.

It was a wide and endless labyrinth of despair and death! He got that feeling just from watching the video of Roderick’s Labyrinth. Even if someone managed to conquer the labyrinth, the biggest problem was coming outside.

If Weed died then his skill proficiency would fall and he would fail the final secret technique quest. If he brought the sculptural lifeforms then it would mean complete death.

He could revive them again but it was the end if he couldn’t get out. Weed’s sculptural lifeforms could be permanently lost.

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Weed frowned.

“Is it necessary to study Roderick’s research records in order to express radiant beauty?”

“Understand this. You have to look at the records in order to know what the sculptors have pursued. And keep this in mind. You shouldn’t leave it too late. If someone else finds the research records first then there is a possibility they could escape the labyrinth with it.”

Ddiring!

-Roderick’s Labyrinth

The lower devil Montus and his subordinates have been trapped in the labyrinth. They are eager to exit into the world and it is inevitable to encounter them if you enter the labyrinth.

Reading Roderick’s research records will lead to the next quest.

Level of Difficulty: Final Secret Sculpting Technique Quest

Quest Restrictions: The quest will fail if you die.

Be the first to conquer Roderick’s Labyrinth.

“Although I wish to achieve the sculptors’ desires….”

Before Weed could finish talking…

“It will be dangerous but please come back safely.

-The quest has been given.

“…..”

The quest was forcibly given to him! Weed was full of thoughts as he went out to the streets of Rhodium.

‘I had expected that this request would be difficult to some degree.’

He had travelled a great distance and trained Radiant Sword for the final secret sculpting technique.

‘It was all to make me stronger.’

So far the quests hadn’t been that bad. Even though the quest to cause disasters was risky, there was still a high chance of survival. Furthermore, he could select and prepare the type of disaster.

Travelling as a hummingbird just required sightseeing while the Radiant Sword quest could be overcome with effort. There was a fixed date but Weed had raised Radiant Sword to the required level with one week left.

He had persisted so much that he even reduced the number of times he went to the toilet in a day. Working hard was Weed’s speciality but Roderick’s Labyrinth quest was too risky.

‘This time there is a really high chance that I will fail and lose everything.’

Weed’s chest was tight with tension. In recent times, he hadn’t completed a really difficult quest. The Cla.s.s Master Quest was for sculptors so he could just go with the flow.

‘I expected that I would be successful before I started most of them. And even if I failed, I would’ve been able to try again.’

Weed had become a legend from his time in Continent of Magic. It was because he achieved miracle like adventures that seemed impossible. However, the difficult of this final secret sculpting technique quest was ridiculously high. Weed’s thoughts went in various directions before he nodded.

“If I don’t prepare properly then I really will fail this quest. I also can’t postpone it too long.”

For the moment, other users hadn’t been able to conquer Roderick’s Labyrinth. The labyrinth was known as a deadly place so many adventurers were willing to go there. But if someone cleared Roderick’s Labyrinth then the final secret sculpting technique quest would disappear.

“Obtain the last secret technique before the devil Montus runs away and the Central Continent war reaches the north.”

The work he had to do in the future was boundless. He might feel more at ease if he managed to get the final secret technique. Either despair or pleasure would be at the end of the tunnel. It was true that you reap what you sow in life, but effort also played a large role.

“Indeed, I’m not the son of a rich family.”

Weed headed towards the Freya Church in Somren Liberty City. He needed to bring the maximum number of troops into the labyrinth.

“If our contribution increases a bit more then we can invite a paladin.”

“Then it will be possible to go to the thieve’s lair?”

“Of course. That’s why we’ve been doing quests involved with the Freya Church. We can obtain the necessary equipment from hunting.”

The headquarters of the Freya Church in Somren Liberty City was crowded with players. This place hadn’t received much damage from the war in the Britten Alliance Kingdom.

“Please guide me to the High Priest.”

“You have come a long way. I’ll guide you immediately.”

The guards and priests protected the entrance recognized Weed. And they immediately showed him to the High Priest.

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