Light of Arad: Forerunner

Chapter 43

The monsters in Shallow Keep were nothing special to Jinseong.

‘Handling seven or eight of them at once isn’t a problem anymore… That alone isn’t too bad.’

Considering that he would learn new skills at level 35 and that he could use those skills in combination or as regular skills, he figured he would be able to clear a few more dungeons without much difficulty.

This also meant that there was nothing in the dungeon zone: Alfraira that posed a real threat to Jinseong.

Clang-!

So, what Jinseong was getting worked up over wasn’t just dealing with ghouls or skull throwers.

“There’s nothing here either~”

He hummed as he muttered to himself and kicked a blue orb, scattering it. He destroyed the object that had been illuminating the dark dungeon for a reason.

‘When I was a user, breaking objects in the dungeon would drop items… but I haven’t found anything like that yet.’

In *Dungeon & Fighter*, it wasn’t just monsters that appeared in dungeons. There were various objects that could be interacted with or destroyed through attacks, and from those objects, players could acquire items.

Driven by greed, Jinseong went around breaking, stabbing, and smashing anything in sight, but so far, he hadn’t gained anything of value.

‘Well, I can’t even loot items from the monsters, so it’s not surprising there’s nothing here either.’

If he wanted to obtain something, he would have to keep doing what he had been doing all along. There was no point in hoping for gold or potions to appear inside the glass orbs that provided light.

‘Objects that might contain items… they must exist. For example—.’

At that moment, something caught Jinseong’s eye as he ventured deeper into Shallow Keep.

“Grrrr—ack.”

“Move, you idiot.”

He stuck the into the skull of a ghoul emerging from the ground, pinning it in place. Jinseong approached a small chest.

‘I didn’t know they had these in Shallow Keep… Well, they do exist. Considering the concept of Alfraira’s dungeons…’

Though much had changed, in the past, Alfraira’s dungeons were tied to the internal conflicts of the Spider Kingdom. There were still dungeons linked to the ‘Tomb of the Black Elf Hero of the Penneth Kingdom,’ which played a role in the main scenario quest.

But right now, none of that was important to Jinseong.

What mattered was one thing.

‘Where there are remnants of the old kingdom, where the ancient heroes rest, there are bound to be treasures worthy of their legacy~ Heh heh.’

Jinseong, with an eager expression, carefully opened the small chest.

“I’m not asking for much. If possible, some armor—whoa?!”

As soon as the rusty hinge creaked open, Jinseong’s face twisted in displeasure.

While the stories about the internal conflicts of the Spider Kingdom and the Tomb of the Black Elf Hero existed, this wasn’t the place for them.

“Gross! It stinks!”

In a cave filled with ghouls, skull throwers, and corpses, there was no way there could be treasure. Inside the small chest was something crushed and emitting a foul odor.

Upon detecting the faintly familiar but unpleasant smell, Jinseong realized what it was.

‘Is this… food? Looks like it’s completely rotted away—.’

Was it an ingredient that had fermented beyond recognition? Most people would have closed the chest and run away immediately, but Jinseong was different.

‘…Wait. Alfraira. And Underfoot.’

This was Alfraira. A little further ahead was the capital of the Penneth Kingdom, Underfoot. Shallow Keep had been a place where NPC Morgan and other black elves came to investigate the plague, so it was worth considering who might have brought this chest.

“Grrrr!”

“Ugh… Stop talking to me, I’m about to throw up.”

Even while gagging, Jinseong couldn’t help but take the sticky substance that clung to his hands.

* * *

“Phew.”

Jinseong, holding his arms out like a stiff zombie, emerged from Shallow Keep.

His discomfort at not being able to wash his hands was evident from his posture alone.

How long had it been since Jinseong entered Shallow Keep?

‘Let’s just wash first and think later. Maybe I should’ve asked Nemer for an automatic shower function, something to clean me without having to scrub.’

It had already been hours since he smeared that sticky substance on his hands and wiped them off with dirt and sand. He’d spent nearly an entire day inside the dungeon, yet his level was still below 35.

The low-level monsters didn’t grant enough experience points, so it couldn’t be helped.

‘I need to hurry up and find a user on a corrupted quest, follow them around, and— Ah.’

The one fortunate thing for Jinseong was that Alfraira’s outpost was bustling.

It wasn’t just because of Robato, the knight from the Duchy of Bell Meyer standing near Klonter, or the male priest-class user.

What caught their attention was the gathered forces from both nations at Alfraira’s outpost.

“Haha, I told you to get lost, you punks! Do I have to hit you with this iron ball a few more times before you bring your leader?”

A hulking black elf wielding a massive iron ball was causing a commotion.

And in front of him, a sharp-eyed woman who didn’t back down an inch.

“What’s this? I heard a million times to avoid conflicts with the black elves as much as possible, so I was trying to hold back… But the welcome’s pretty rough.”

From just hearing their lines, Jinseong knew who these two NPCs were.

‘Brawler Roel and the Sewer Princess Faris… So, Morgan’s quest in Shallow Keep is over, and we’re moving on to the next part.’

He could tell how far along the quest had progressed.

“This voice… Oh no, Lord Roel! What are you doing? Please stop!”

“Huh? Klonter? What are you doing here?”

“That’s my line! You’re supposed to be guarding Underfoot! Why are you here?”

“What? Well, obviously, I came because I heard there was going to be a war with the humans. I wanted to fight the strongest one first. Besides, this is way more fun than boring guard duty…”

Other members of the duchy approached Klonter, who had stepped in to stop Roel and Faris from fighting.

“Haha… Lord Roel, you haven’t changed a bit, have you?”

“Sharan! Did the duchy request your assistance?”

Upon learning that a magician and alchemist were needed based on Morgan’s journal, the duchy had immediately dispatched the mage guild leader, Sharan, and the alchemist, Roton.

“Yes, all these people were sent at the request of Queen Skadi.”

Watching Sharan respond confidently from a distance, Jinseong grinned.

She was aware of the seriousness of the plague, yet she could remain calm. The reason was clear.

‘Heh, it’s rewarding to have given her some advice in advance. It looks like the mage guild has already gathered plenty of useful information.’

This meant that Sharan had the confidence to handle whatever the plague turned out to be. In other words, Jinseong’s own reputation had risen as well.

However, there was one thing that Jinseong couldn’t take lightly.

There was more he could have mentioned to Sharan, something he hadn’t thought of until now.

“Sharan? You’re Sharan? Haha! I remember when you used to chase me around, saying you’d marry me. You’ve grown so much. If we met somewhere else, I might not have recognized you.”

“…Lord Roel, let’s save personal matters for later.”

Sharan blushed as she looked at Roel.

It was one of those details Jinseong had momentarily forgotten.

‘Ah, right. That kind of relationship existed. Well, I said I could only predict the future to a certain extent, so she can’t blame me for not mentioning it.’

He couldn’t possibly memorize every little detail that didn’t significantly affect the main scenario quest.

Anticipating a scolding from Sharan, Jinseong decided to face it shamelessly.

“It’s been a while, Knight Robato. I’ve roughly heard about the situation here from the queen. How can I assist?”

In the midst of the noisy and chaotic situation, the only one wearing a serious expression was the alchemist Roton Maximeug.

As soon as he spoke, Klonter, Roel, Faris, and Sharan all fell silent.

They briefed him on the current situation and showed him Morgan’s journal, to which Roton and Sharan nodded.

Jinseong watched and listened closely.

‘There’s no corruption yet.’

At least, there was no sign of corruption in the current quest involving the male priest user.

There were no corrupted monsters in sight.

However, Jinseong had already confirmed after clearing three separate corruptions that there were always changes in the quest before a corrupted entity distorted the scenario.

‘It wasn’t Rennie who was corrupted, but Rennie got involved… And the wasn’t discovered before the corruption of Lotus. There were always signals hinting at corruption in the quest.’

These signs, whether from the side effects or distortions caused by the when it corrupted an entity, were always there.

“Lady Faris and the adventurer, please take on the role of the vanguard in clearing the path to Underfoot. The rest of you will depart with the transport troops once the cure for the Penn

eth Kingdom is successfully developed.”

Jinseong had to make a choice.

Should he continue following the male priest user until a signal was detected? Or should he stay in Alfraira and wait for a corrupted quest user to appear?

‘…I’ll focus on what’s important.’

After a brief consideration, Jinseong’s decision wasn’t difficult.

The key lay in the pattern.

‘My actions have aligned with the corrupted quests’ flow. When I reached Sky Castle, its corruption was revealed. When I got to Behemoth, its corruption emerged. So eventually—.’

He decided to follow.

If Nemer or anyone else was orchestrating this, guiding and arranging his path so that he could become the correct *Bucipke*, there was no point in just waiting around.

The adventurer, the male priest user, along with the representatives—Faris, the Sewer Princess, and Roel, the Brawler—set off to pave the transport route to Underfoot.

Jinseong quietly followed behind them.

The next dungeon zone: Alfraira’s second dungeon, the Spider’s Lair.

* * *

As soon as they entered the Spider’s Lair, there was a brief commotion at a three-way fork in the path.

Roel, Faris, and the male priest user decided to split up, but amidst their constant bickering, Roel and Faris made a bet on who could kill more spiders and collect more spider legs.

‘…I don’t really need to follow the NPCs, so I’m sticking with the user—.’

Jinseong smacked his lips.

The male priest user skillfully used his abilities, slaying monsters and collecting all the items they dropped as he advanced.

‘He’s looting everything. Well, that’s to be expected.’

What was left in the user’s wake were the corpses of spiders, named ‘Marpisa,’ the monsters of the Spider’s Lair.

The sticky fluids dripping from the massive spider carcasses, which were about the size of large dogs, gave Jinseong chills.

“Grrk.”

“Shh, be quiet.”

Jinseong silenced the trailing behind him.

‘…Come to think of it, if I give this thing a name, will it recognize it? Normally, you’d need a to do something like this….’

If this much communication was possible, then naming it should be too.

Jinseong chuckled at the thought, wondering if this was one of the perks of being possessed.

‘It’s funny how I’m getting excited over such a small perk… I guess I’ve really become an Aradian. Anyway, I should try giving it a name later.’

The creature, a simplified version of the Apostle Lotus, was waiting for the name Jinseong would come up with. But for now, that thought would have to wait.

“Grrk. Grrrk!”

“Ugh— Hey, don’t tug on my clothes with your tongue— Huh?”

Noticing the creature’s unusual behavior, Jinseong turned around.

And then he saw it.

The reason why had been pulling at his clothes.

“…No way.”

In *Dungeon & Fighter*, there were destructible objects inside dungeons.

Some of these objects contained items, while others…

‘The user already went to the next room, but it seems like my presence here triggered this one.’

There were also objects that, when destroyed, would summon additional monsters.

Before Jinseong could even react, countless cat-sized spiders began crawling out from all directions.

“Well, I guess I’ll consider this as a warm-up for when I have to deal with dragon eggs later.”

In an instant, dozens of spiders had appeared.