From Today, I'm a Player

Chapter 74: Heaven Lake Pt. 3

Every part of Heaven Lake reverberated. Even the sky and the earth. Everything cried out.

“That…”

The source of the strength that astounded the sky and shook the earth was the intruder that had been trapped in the seal of Heaven Lake by Sangun and Ungnyeo. This was the same intruder who had inflicted mortal wounds on Sangun, who had to not only borrow the power of Mt. Baekdu, but also join forces with Ungnyeo to seal it.

“You mean that little kid over there is the boss?”

Jeong In-Chang stood, seemingly in disbelief, as he watched the little brat in front of him that had roared a moment ago. His reaction was warranted, as he had just found out that the boss of the seal was sitting in front of him and his party. Even stranger, it was a person.

It was a boy who looked to be around ten years old and was roughly the same size as Ungnyeo. He had long gray hair, and he looked over at them before growling in a low tone.

“Grrr…”

After continually advancing through the seal, Lee Jun-Kyeong had finally met their enemy. He was a brat who had spent his time sleeping to heal his wounds. He was the very same brat who had inflicted fatal injuries on Sangun and had to be sealed by the tiger and Ungnyeo.

He had felt their approach. Thus, he woke up and cried out, causing everything around them to reverberate.

“Don’t be fooled,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said with a stiff expression as he slowly got into position. Jeong In-Chang had never seen such a grim look on his companion’s face before.

"That's not human."

"But..." Jeong In-Chang sputtered.

Lee Jun-Kyeong shook his head tersely. “Not everything is as it seems. You should have realized this after having come to Mt. Baekdu.”

Jeong In-Chang nodded and raised his greatsword.

‘Not everything is as it seems.’

Jeong In-Chang hadn’t realized that there could be existences with such enormous power until he had reached Heaven Lake and met Sangun. He also hadn’t uncovered that the little girl was named Ungnyeo and was the village chief or that she had as much power as Sangun itself.

What he could see in front of him now was clearly not human. Lee Jun-Kyeong had affirmed it, so it was something he could believe.

“It is different…” he muttered.

Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled slightly. “It is, isn’t it?”

Now that he had understood it wasn’t human, he had begun to notice the differences. The boy’s appearance was definitely irregular. It was evidently in the form of a boy, but there was something trembling behind him.

“That thing…”

Jeong In-Chang could clearly see the evidence that the boy was not human, so he looked back and asked about something else instead, “Can we really win against it?”

He was facing something that had an incredible strength that might have been better left unseen. This power was on par with the power he had felt from that person.

‘Heracles.’

“Roar!”

Soon, the boy cried out and waved his arms.

Dududu!

A slender arm that used to be as thick as a branch suddenly ballooned into a giant paw covered with white fur, crushing the place where the party had stood.

“Goongje…”

Afterward, the ogre mage, the princess, came out and inserted itself in front of Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang.

“Princess!” Jeong In-Chang called out with concern as he knew the enemy was strong.

“Goongje!”

The princess refused to listen to Jeong In-Chang and began to run forward.

"Hyeon-Mu!"

Lee Jun-Kyeong called out to Hyeon-Mu in a hurry. The princess’ reaction was natural. It had felt the power that had exuded from the boy now, and it had judged it to be dangerous. Although it had been afraid of Sangun, who had shown them no hostility, an ogre mage would never back down in the face of hostility!

Jeong In-Chang jumped at Lee Jun-Kyeong’s shout after he heard that it would be dangerous for his Familiar.

He unleashed a battle cry and started running forward as well.

“Ahhhh!”

“Hyeon-Mu! Don’t summon your skeletons. You’re in charge of support instead!” Lee Jun-Kyeong commanded.

–I have received your orders!

Skeletons would only become victims in this battle. Lee Jun-Kyeong didn’t want any of their stats to be lowered, so he gave Hyeon-Mu the support role instead.

That would be enough.

Lee Jun-Kyeong also kicked off the ground.

Every time the boy swung his arms and legs, a shadow shimmered around him as if he had been coated in an aura of another being. The visage of paws covered in white fur appeared around his limbs.

It was almost like a wolf.

Then, another notification came as Lee Jun-Kyeong stabbed Muspel’s Spear forward with all his might.

[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> stares forward with hooded eyes…]

[...and watches over every aspect of you.]

***

Shuffle.

The sun was shining. Under the warm sunlight, Jang Hyo-Jin, the president of the Association, was handling documents as per usual.

There had been the appearance of a special gate. Not only had he become a bit busier with the return of the Asgardian Heroes, but he also could feel the beginnings of change, so he was busy making decisions regarding what benefits to focus on and the next course of action.

Things were no different than usual for him, and everything was going smoothly. Although his decisions most likely caused some people to scream, those screams never reached his position.

“Ahem…”

Although things were going as usual, Jang Hyo-Jin grabbed at his heart when a sudden shot of pain coursed through him. Furthermore, it wasn’t a simple feeling of pain either.

“Ugh…!”

He had never felt this kind of pain before.

Throoobbbb.

The feeling didn’t pass even after he circulated his mana and quickly used a healing skill.

Throb.

It wasn’t that he was taking any damage. He hadn’t sustained any actual injuries, and it was just that the pain was at an incomprehensible level.

"Ug… ugh…" he gasped.

Jang Hyo-Jin soon came to his senses after holding onto his chest for a long time. The pain had passed. Sweat was dripping down his forehead, wetting the papers that he had been looking at.

His missing left eye socket slowly began to emit light, and he turned his head towards the window. He stared outside the window, where the sun was shining.

[<The Endless Investigator> is looking at you.]

"How noisy."

[<The Voiceless Sage> looks down on you.]

"You dare!" Odin shouted to the sky. "Do not meddle in my affairs!"

The screams that shook the space subsided, and Jang Hyo-Jin, Odin, looked out the window again.

'How…'

He wondered what was going on.

Odin knew what this phantom pain really was.

[Crisis Detection]

It was the skill of an Authority he had obtained long ago. It had the ability to sense any absolute crises, but the criteria was high. It hadn’t been triggered even when a special gate had appeared.

It was a skill that had disappeared from his memory long ago. So, he couldn’t understand what was going on.

What the hell was this Authority sensing?

He couldn't quite figure it out.

He muttered, "I need to be more prepared."

However, whatever it was, it was enough to arouse Odin's vigilance.

***

"Hurry up and evacuate the children!"

Heaven Lake Village.

It was busy at the village that was tethered to the top of Mt. Baekdu.

Rumble!

The reliable Heaven Lake Village, which had been under the protection of Sangun, was shaking. This had only ever happened once so far: when the intruders had been fighting Sangun.

But now, heaven and earth were howling, and Mt. Baekdu was in agony.

“Get the kids first! Those who don’t have any strength should retreat as well!”

A little girl was shouting out in front of Heaven Lake Village with both her hands outstretched. It was the village chief of Heaven Lake Village and a hero with the title Ungnyeo.

“We will follow the orders!”

There was not a single person who refused, and they were fully open to her commands. Ungnyeo only had a child’s body due to the excessive use of force and other various side effects. Usually, not only her body but also her mind were that of a child’s, and the villagers of Heaven Lake Village treated her according to her physical appearance.

However, whenever there was a time when she showed her true self like this, she was their leader with a power equal to that of Sangun.

"Chief! Are you really okay...!" some of the villagers shouted anxiously.

Amidst the destruction of North Korea and the endless emergence of gates, Heaven Lake Village had been created and preserved through its own culture. The series of crises that had emerged from their peaceful lives were enough to cause them anxiety.

"…"

Ungnyeo shut her mouth for a moment.

"Even if things go wrong, Sangun and I will fix it! So hurry up and evacuate the powerless!"

“We will follow the orders!”

Ungnyeo's words were absolute. She had always kept her word. As a result, the anxiety of the villagers had subsided significantly.

Ungnyeo extended out her strength and embraced the seal in her mana.

‘Sangun.’

If, by chance, the Hunters who had gone into Heaven Lake failed, and if the intruder woke up, then Ungnyeo would defeat it together with Sangun, just as she had told the villagers.

They would annihilate the unsealed bastard.

However, there was one problem.

'Sangun!'

He would die. He would die as he would have to use too much power. The fight wouldn’t last much longer than a moment, and Sangun would disappear along with the intruders.

Therefore, she prayed that the Hunters would defeat the intruders.

"Come back alive!" Ungnyeo shouted toward Heaven Lake.

Suddenly, a bronze sword appeared in her right hand and a bell in her left hand.

Ring!

With the sound of the bell, her eyes began to glow green.

***

Lee Jun-Kyeong thrust forward with Muspel’s Spear, but the boy he was targeting had disappeared from his seat, leaving behind an afterimage.

“Ha-up!”

Jeong In-Chang swung his greatsword toward the location where the missing boy had appeared. The speed of the greatsword was incomparably faster than before. His sword directly slashed against the boy’s skin, but that was all that it did.

“Grah!!”

The boy howled like a beast and stretched out his hand, which turned into a huge front paw and appeared right in front of Jeong In-Chang’s nose.

“Goongje!”

However, the princess had become enraged by the boy’s constant evasion, so it grabbed the huge front paw and embraced it with both hands. Because the princess had completely removed its transformation, it had returned to the original form of an ogre mage. However, the boy’s front paw was larger than the princess.

Swish!

Lee Jun-Kyeong had corrected his stance and rushed in again to aim for the opening. Jeong In-Chang did the same as well.

–Water Bomb.

Hyeon-Mu’s attack had also exploded in the right place.

The boy had tried to shake off the princess and run away, but a water bomb had been waiting for it in its escape route.

Boom!

The water bomb exploded with a huge burst of water pressure.

Whistle!

As if the boy’s body was like a hot iron, when the water washed over him, it made a whistling sound, reminiscent of a boiling kettle.

“Graah!!!”

As the boy writhed in pain, Lee Jun-Kyeong pierced the boy’s shoulder with Muspel’s Spear. At the same time, Jeong In-Chang’s greatsword penetrated into the boy’s shoulder on the opposite side.

Squelch!

However, the boy responded with a howl, and lava began to spurt from his feet. Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang attempted to retreat immediately.

Tremble.

However, they couldn’t move.

“...!”

“...!”

The boy stood, holding Muspel’s Spear in one hand and the greatsword in the other. The princess had already been embedded into the wall by its front paw a long time ago.

Clench.

It began to give strength to the hands holding Muspel’s Spear and the greatsword.

“Oh… oh my god!” Jeong In-Chang explained in surprise. Small cracks had begun to form along the greatsword, which hadn’t been destroyed or even cracked in any way so far.

‘Reign of Fire.’

Right then, Lee Jun-Kyeong moved into the lava. Reign of Fire had reached level 9 and was enough to move into the lava. The lava that flowed around his feet was molded into a round spherical shape and shot towards the boy.

Boom!

–Water Bomb.

There was an explosion, and again, Hyeon-Mu had attacked at the right time. The meeting of fire and water filled the space with thick steam.

“Gasp… gasp…”

Jeong In-Chang had succeeded in removing his greatsword from the boy. He then took a step back and swung his greatsword in front of him. Thanks to his action, the thick steam around him was pushed away slightly.

“Mr. Lee!”

However, through the smoke, he could see Lee Jun-Kyeong with his neck caught in the boy’s right hand.

“Ugh…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong's face was contorted as if he was in terrible pain.

"Mr. Lee!"

Jeong In-Chang quickly jumped in with his greatsword.

Clang!

The boy quickly swung its other hand and knocked away Jeong In-Chang. He ended up embedded in the wall like the princess had earlier. The boy was definitely a monster, and using the word "overwhelming" to describe it was quite appropriate.

Jeong In-Chang regretted thinking that it had been a person, even for a moment.

"Ugh…"

Lee Jun-Kyeong grabbed the hand of the boy holding his neck while throwing the round shield.

Crash!

He had tried to take off the boy’s front paw by activating his strength stat, which was over 150.

“Grrr…”

However, the boy felt pain but didn’t let go of Lee Jun-Kyeong’s neck.

[<The Sky of the Apocalypse> is watching you.]

“Let go…”

Lee Jun-Kyeong could barely speak using the breath he had remaining. However, there was nothing compelling the boy to let go. Lee Jun-Kyeong pierced Muspel’s Spear, which he had removed from the boy’s shoulder earlier, into the boy’s forearm again.

Squelch!

The boy’s blood flowed toward Muspel’s Spear and traveled up the body as if it was defying gravity. It wriggled before being absorbed by the spear.

It was almost as if…

–Do you need power?

It was as if it was asking him that.

Lee Jun-Kyeong thought for a moment.

“Fuck off!”

However, instead, a vast amount of mana erupted from him. He had finally been able to remove the hand of the boy.

At the same time, he felt an unbelievable force coursing through him.

[The level of the mana stream has risen.]