Chapter 178: Chapter 155: Safe Zone
Evil.
What is it?
The teachings from the academy taught me that there exists evil in every world and realm.
It's a word describing someone who is profoundly immoral and wicked.
How does one differentiate evil from good?
That's a difficult question to answer. No one is transparent with their motives or feelings.
A person may appear righteous on the outside but they can hold a wickedness in their hearts that possibly no one knows about until it's too late.
I have met such people in my long life. People with ulterior motives showed me kindness and gained my trust, only to hurt me in the end.
I killed them all. Whether they were a mortal or a demigod.
If I sense your heart is impure and filled with murderous aura befitting a demon then I shall kill you.
I will not ask what good you did in life nor ask you to repent for your sins. I will not even consider sparing you if you sinned heavily in the past but seek absolution.
Evil does not deserve a second chance.
A person's value is determined by their karma by the gods. It's a concept created by them to decide who deserves to ascend to the Nine Realms and who deserves to be trapped in a hellish world filled with nightmare creatures and scorching flames burning the flesh off their bones for all eternity.
If your karma exceeds a certain negative threshold then your soul has become similar to that of a demon. The gods will hold no compassion nor contempt for you. Your soul will not be protected by them after you die.
Why have I become like this?
I did not show hostility to every person I meet back when I served in the divine order. However, that began to change when I was forcibly taken from my home and subjected to vile acts such as rape and torture from a human.
I have since considered humans the ultimate vessel of evil. Their hearts cannot simply be pure like that of Elves or Druids. They resembled the hearts of Dark Elves instead.
Dark Elves are known as demon-spawn so it's no surprise that their hearts are evil. Humans can be influenced by demons, which is why they are the perfect vessels.
I seldom wonder about the man who subjected me to years of suffering and forced subordination… Which realm did he go to when he met his end?
Did the gods forgive him simply because of his deeds when he was a human?
Or—
Did the gods banish him to the pits of hell after discovering the horrifying acts he committed?
I will never know the true answer unless I die.
I lifted my head. My toes felt the touch of the warm light emanating from the sun.
This was my first time seeing light again since Lord Pierell perished.
Has it been a year since I last laid my eyes upon the sunlight? 2 years? Perhaps it has been 100 years?
I could not tell.
The last time I ever left this world was when the person that saved me was on his deathbed. That person gave me a place where I can belong—a world devoid of evil. A world surrounded by only positive things. I swore to defend him until the day I die. Ironically, he was the first to perish. But I could not stop it.
I lost my one reason for continuing to live.
I wandered aimlessly for years on end, not returning to my world. I retrieved an artifact of the gods on one of worlds and came straight back to my own world.
What did I do with the artifact? Which artifact was it exactly? Did I manage to achieve the goal related to the artifact in the end?
I don't remember.
I was slowly losing my lifeforce so bits of my memories faded away. Though, I cannot remember anything from recently, I could still remember the horrific things that happened during the great war and the things I had to do to survive in that war.
I wonder. Did the humans triumph over the demons in the end or were my sacrifices for nothing?
The feeling of my limbs came back to me.
The vines that were covering the hole in my chest moved away, allowing me movement.
I stood up and grabbed a dress to cover my bare body.
I reached the edge of the cliff and gazed towards a spatial gate out in the distance. It stretched as high as the clouds and was as big as a mountain.
"It's coming. An evil comparable to a demon god."
This entity's presence was weak here in my domain so it wasn't that close to me yet. But I could still feel it.
It was the disgusting scent of a demon.
"If our paths ever cross then I shall do my utmost to erase your entire existence."
I shall slay it regardless of what evil it might be.
It could be a man, woman or child. I do not care. I will not be fooled by the goodness and innocence in one's appearance and deeds.
Once was enough.
◇◇◇
Tenth Floor – Tainted Magai Lands.
Monday, 2nd day of Bottled Star, 1345SA(Second Age).
Arnold, Tanaera and Rafaela had been travelling through the floors for about a week now. Arnold had a pocket watch which he regularly checked to not lose track of time. He made a calendar as well to keep up with the date.
It was currently the last month of the year(well, in his world).
Also, his birthday was somewhere during this month.
He made a journal to remember what each world had to offer. This will become useful if he ever decides to leave the dungeon for a good while and come back later to explore thoroughly.
It was probably useless to make a journal since Arnold's head was similar to a supercomputer.
So far the only places he could get food and such were the fifth and eighth world. The others were uninhabitable for life of any kind. It was highly likely that those floors just became barren whilst being tied to this dungeon. That happens to every world after reaching their end so it wasn't unheard of. It was also likely that one of the offspring destroyed those worlds.
Given how dumb some of them are(which was obvious since some of their brains aren't developed yet), they probably perished under the might of their own power while they laid waste to the worlds. Some of them are strong enough to even survive their own destructive power, though.
Arnold inhaled the fresh air. He had been inhaling many unpleasant things—the ash of the destroyed worlds being one of them. Nothing beats the fresh air of oxygen.
Rafaela pointed somewhere in the distance.
"That's our destination."
She was pointing at a very tall fortress tower being nearly obscured by tall trees standing around it.
"We have to go to that castle?"
"No, there's a shrine near the castle. It's a safe zone, just like the sanctuary of the Sky God's palace. We can stay there for safety while we resupply or we can leave immediately without having to worry about fighting. The castle is swarming with all kinds of enemies so it'll be tiresome to go towards it."
"Are there any bosses?"
"If you mean the monsters that guard valuable treasures then yes. There are two to seven in each world that has a stronghold. There's one stronghold in front of us so there's only one monster boss. Strongholds typically have the valuable treasures I just mentioned. Each monster gives a different reward. For example, the 'boss' you can encounter in the castle's basement gives you a pair of high-class daggers made from its fangs."
'A drop item, eh?'
"Have the disciples fought the monster bosses before?"
"Yes, several times. My master personally killed the boss I just mentioned. She gave all her servants—including myself—magic items to help us fight the monsters if we ever deviate from the path. That's the only way we can protect ourselves, after all. None of us can use Legendary grade weapons like they can."
'I haven't heard that in a long time.' Arnold said inwardly when he heard Rafaela mention "legendary grade".
Ranking something by grade refers to artifacts or just relics found in relic tombs, not human-made objects. Grades are very similar to how combat classes are ranked in Star Fantasy. They aren't ranked like Diacree ranks magic items and weapons. This is because artifacts are of divine nature and not crafted by mortals. Which means that they are not the same.
Star Class Items are part of the artifact category like: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Legendary and Unique. But they're given a class rank because they aren't only known about in legends like artifacts from relic tombs. Explorers have found Star Class Items in the past because relic tombs were easier to find back then. Because of that, humans decided to rank Star grade artifacts in the same category as weapons and items crafted by mortals.
The devs didn't change this even though it's technically insulting to the gods who crafted the items.
"Do any of the monster bosses guard portals?"
"None that I know of." Rafaela looked at Arnold with an expression that said "what kind of idiot told you that".
Bosses typically guard the portal to the next floor in the game. No, this was known throughout every MMORPG that he knew of. A boss is designed to retard a player's progress through the game. This is what frustrates players so much. Why can't all floors give them free access to portals without having to fight some overpowered rotting goddess or star-destroying behemoth?
Despite their frustration, players are given a reason to grind in games in order to advance further. This was a common strategy in games that will never die out.
But why not in the Sky God Dungeon?
'Maybe it's because of the fact that most of these worlds have multiple entrances and not just one. A boss will be unnecessary if a player can simply take a longer route and find another portal.'
They would be wasting their time putting a boss in one spot. Putting a monster at every portal was impossible given how a floor in this dungeon didn't refer to just a limited area. Limited technology was also an issue.
The three of them arrived at a stone-carved road with broken down pillars on both sides of the road.
"Why can the boss respawn? Is there some kind of mechanism that does that?"
Bosses never respawn since they're the goal of every floor. Why would you try to reach a goal twice? Sure, they respawn if you change servers but never when you leave a floor and come back while on the same server.
"If the stronghold still stands then it's impossible to eradicate them completely. The stronghold itself is a magical fortress that is the reason for its boss' resurrection. Tell me, do you think you can destroy that castle?"
"No."
He couldn't do it even with his demon lord power. That stronghold was gigantic. It was three times the size of the imperial palace.
It's a waste of time and energy to go to that stronghold. Although it's quite interesting how the entire thing was designed.
"How long do you have to get out after grabbing the reward?"
"It varies. A stronghold will be covered in runic patterns that comes from the top of its structure and goes down to the foundation. I'd say a few minutes on average before boss and every other monster respawns."
"How the hell will anyone get out of a basement of something that gigantic?" Arnold asked in disbelief.
"You could always use a magic item to return to the last safe zone you visited." Tanaera—who had been silent until now—spoke.
"Huh? Really?"
"There are world hoppers almost everywhere in this dungeon. The few who don't choose to pursue a life of exploration choose to become humble merchants. The things they sell vary a lot from the kind of world you can find them in. They don't just get their goods from one world. There's no reason to."
'So that Hermit Sage guy should also be going around different worlds selling stuff to people. That's quite fascinating.'
World hoppers are never seen anywhere in the main storyline but they are mentioned quite often.
The reason why they have the power to jump worlds is a mystery to Arnold.
It seems like a convenient skill to have if you know where to go and what to find.
Sadly, Arnold won't be able to jump worlds unless he gets teleportation magic or an item capable of teleportation. If possible, he'd like to get one so that he can use it to teleport out of this dungeon once he finds the martial arts book. If he doesn't… well, then he'll have to risk going into a dungeon storm.
"I've met many of them. I've never used that item I just mentioned but I know its name."
"We'll need some of those items. Where can we find this mer—"
"Didn't I say that I have to get to my master as soon as possible? Why can't you stop being so selfish?" Rafaela glared at Arnold.
"Aren't I the reason why you're still breathing? I always stand lookout and watch over the two of you even during the day. If I deem the area safe then we go where I go. Let's not have this discussion again." Arnold said in a no-nonsense tone.
He couldn't let Rafaela leave his side. Fighting with an angel's buff was more reassuring than being buffed by a priest. Even low-ranking angels have more divine power than any average level 50 Cleric or Priest.
Unlike Priests who have limited skill slots for their buffs, angels can have an infinite amount of buffs, assuming they can cast the spells. Arnold hasn't seen Rafaela in action but he's hopeful that she'll be useful when he fights an opponent that he can't win against alone.
"….I hate this mortal." Rafaela muttered and walked ahead of the two of them.
"I heard that."
"Humph."
◇◇◇
The three of them were still walking in the stronghold's direction. It didn't even feel like they were getting closer since the landscape was so vast.
They hadn't encountered any monsters just yet but Arnold could see a bunch of giants or golems made of stone. They weren't that close to the trio so there wasn't a worry of fighting them.
Arnold looked around.
'Are we inside an arena or something?' the wall was far in the distance but he could imagine its size just from seeing it alone.
The bizarre thing was that the entire landscape seemed to be surrounded by this "wall".
"Hey, Rafaela, why is this entire floor surrounded by a gigantic wall?" Arnold matched Rafaela's speed to ask her, "Are the habitants being kept inside?"
"It's the complete opposite. Something is being kept outside."
"?"
"You're a mortal from outside so it doesn't come as a surprise that you don't know. Do you remember what happened to the god that resided in this dungeon?"
"Yeah. He was killed by outside enemies. What did you mean by that?"
"Although they managed to eradicate most of these entities, more of them loom in these worlds. The people of these worlds were afraid of being attacked themselves so they built those high walls to keep those things outside."
"Have any of the walls been breached before?"
"No, the walls are strengthened by the disciples' magic so it's nigh impossible for anything to break through. Most of the entities that are left aren't strong enough to break the walls."
"So… you're saying not everyone got so lucky? What about that minority that are strong enough to not see the wall as an obstacle?"
"It's the same as you've seen on the lower floors, excluding some exceptions. The worlds are barren and burned to ash." Rafaela walked faster, "We should hurry up."
Arnold narrowed his eyes.
'Don't tell me that the offspring are these entities that the Sky God fought... Well… I might be wrong. If not then how the hell were they strong enough to fight a god?'
The Star Beast itself was on a level beyond the gods so maybe that made its children on the level below or on the same level of the demigods. Some were as strong as most gods from what Arnold knew.
'How many creatures did that bastard have children with?'
The bigger question is which creatures and humanoids the Star Beast copulated with. It's a known fact in biology that a child inherits their genes from both the father and mother.
The Star Beast was on a level beyond the gods, nearly matching the Timeline Gods in power. Some say that it's omnipotent but it's actually far from it. It only possesses power that not even the human gods can match up to.
If it's as omnipotent as it claims then why could Luke kill it?
It was an arrogant being even in the last chapters of the game.
It proclaimed proudly that no being could defeat it. That was true for the most part. Luke was the only one to defeat it with the help of the Holy Sword and his comrades.
'I can't do anything to stop these things from getting outside. All we can do is avoid them entirely.'
If Arnold had the Beyond Star Class Item [Knowledge of The Worlds] then he could stop a dungeon storm from forming. Finding such a thing wasn't easy since only two have been found so far. Which means that it's useless to use that method.
Another possible solution was to simply deprive a world of its mana to prevent any magical disasters. Dungeon storms are created when pure mana collides with miasma(impure mana). The two are opposites so they cause a negative reaction.
Preventing a dungeon storm using that method was something only an Archmage could do, which he was not. If he was a Supreme Sorcerer then it would've been possible.
The sea monsters he saw when he walked the path that led to the entrance was proof that it's possible for a dungeon storm to send whatever is caught inside it, outside.
"We're nearing the shrine." Rafaela's words broke Arnold out of his thoughts.
He looked across the foggy landscape and could see formations of rocks. On top of those rocks were statues of what appears to be angels. They had wings and masks just like Rafaela.
"Hey, angel, how is it possible for safe zones to be inside these worlds?" Tanaera looked at Rafaela and asked, "I've seen many of them in Naridian Kingdom. They can apparently even protect you from death. How is that possible?"
Safe zones were common in Star Fantasy dungeons and labyrinths. Their purpose is to give players safety without worrying about being attacked by monsters or enemy players. If they are attacked by projectiles then the safe zone creates a barrier that protects those inside of it.
If a player was poisoned or has no heals left and dies then the safe zone resurrects them. There are no repercussions so newbie dungeon divers benefit from this mechanism a lot.
Unlike in real life, Safe Zones had no specific appearance. It could be under a tree, in a corner, etc… All of them have the same marks that make it easier to find them.
'I've gone on a lot of dungeon expeditions during my soloing days but I've never encountered safe zones that look like this before.' Thinking so, Arnold decided to listen to what Rafaela was saying.
"They weren't originally so widespread. In fact, none of them existed outside the world where the Sky God died."
'So most of the floors have these kinds of safe zones?'
"To answer your question: It was said in a prophecy that the body created by the Goddess of Life and Beauty can overcome death itself. In order for that to happen, another death must be given to overcome it."
"Eh?" Tanaera looked at Rafaela with a confused expression.
"A life for a life, is what's being inferred by the saying. See the ten angel statues on top of those rocks?"
Arnold and Tanaera looked towards the formation of rocks as they neared the shrine.
Rafaela looked at Tanaera and Arnold. There was an empty look in her eyes.
She said in a monotonous voice:
"They were once my friends. Now they are statues giving life to those that die in the sanctuary."
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