Chapter 169

: The Summoner of the Central Continent (2)
 
Ian was delighted as he asked.

Oh, is it someone you also know, Bbakbbak?

At Ian’s question, Bbakbbak nodded his head as he replied.
• I know them well. However, Selamus is not the name of a person.

Then?

Bbakbbak’s words continued.
• It is the name of one of the neutral tribes of the ancient central continent.
Ian, who thought about it for a moment, asked again.

Are they like… The desert warriors?

This time, Kaizar replied.

That’s right, Lord guy. If the name of the tribe of desert warriors that are helping the Kaimon Empire right now is ‘Magellan’, then you can think of it as another desert tribe called ‘Selamus’ existed before as well.


…!

Ian’s two eyes rounded.
Since if he could earn an artifact that was similar to the ‘Mark of Magellan’ from the Altar of Selamus, it would be an incredible help.
Ian opened his mouth again.

Then, is there nothing like the Mark of Selamus or something like that?

Kaizar, who figured out what Ian was thinking of, smirked as he replied.

Huhu, unfortunately, there’s probably nothing like that. Since it’s known that the people of Selamus were exterminated a long time ago.

Ian licked his lips.

Tsk, it was good until that. But, why are you saying that it’s a place that I will be interested in?


Since even though there may not be an artifact that brings the strength of a neutral tribe like the Mark of Magellan, you may be able to find other artifacts with different abilities.

At Kaizar’s words, Ian nodded his head as he thought to himself.
‘But then again, if it’s a place that I’m the first discoverer of, at least there will probably be some kind of first discoverer’s reward.’
And Bbakbbak made an additional remark.
The content of it was enough to tempt Ian.
• And amongst the powerful neutral tribes that ruled over the ancient central continent, the Selamus tribe was the only tribe that was composed of Summoners.
Ian’s head turned towards Bbakbbak.

What, really?

And he slightly glared at Kaizar.

Retainer, why didn’t you tell me such important information?

However, Kaizar just shrugged his shoulders.


Alright, from now on, you’re on your own now! People who want to remain at the front and fight head-on with the Kaimon Empire Army can go to the barracks over there and sign up to become a mercenary, and if that’s not the case, it would be best to entrust your body in a domain affiliated with the empire.

At the words of the chief knight of the imperial family, the party that stood in a line began to disperse here and there.
They were the reinforcements of the Luspel Empire that departed from the eastern continent and arrived at the central continent.
And the users of the Luspel Empire that came over to the central continent by joining the line of reinforcements also began to move busily.

Hoo-hoot, finally, entry into the central continent!

Canoel[1], who left the party, wore a pleased expression as he looked around at his surroundings.

Keu, such a romantic desert. I heard that the monsters of the central continent give that much EXP, so then does that mean I just have mass-leveling left?

Canoel grinned as he turned his head towards the red drake that followed his side.

Yongyong, you also like it here, right?

The drake was Yongyong, who could be considered a duplicate of Canoel’s spirit.
Keu-reu-reu-reu-!
The drake nodded its head with a happy expression, and while petting the drake’s head, Canoel mumbled.

Hmm, but I have no information related to the hunting grounds here… Do I have to log out and look around the community first?

However, just then, from Canoel’s field of vision, two men walked out as they shared a conversation.
Canoel listened carefully to the two people’s conversation.
This was because he felt like he could obtain the information he needed from them.

What are you going to do now? Are you going to sign up as a mercenary and fight on the front lines?


Why are you saying such stupid things? We’re losing every battle against Kaimon right now, so participating in the battle at the front lines is an act of suicide.


Still, I heard that the reward was really good, so it’s not bad to participate.


You don’t know what you’re talking about. In the beginning it may have been like that, but as we’ve been pushed back too much, apparently you don’t get a lot of rewards either.

While listening to the two people’s conversation, Canoel nodded his head internally.
‘Hmm… I did hear that we were losing in the war, but it looks like the situation is much more serious than expected.’
The conversation between the two men continued.

Hmm… Really?


I’m telling you, that’s the case.


Then what are you going to do?


I’m thinking of going to a giant guild’s domain that’s in the back and save there before hunting nearby.


Oh-ho, that sounds pretty good as well. But I want to go visit the Pyro Domain once. Let’s stop there before we go.


Pyro Domain? Ah, you must be talking about the Lotus Guild’s domain. I also want to go there, but that might be a little dangerous.


Why?


The Kaimon Empire Army has probably seized most of the bases that are around it by now. It will be okay if we’re lucky and don’t run into the Empire Army… But if we run into them, we’ll end up instantly suffering a terrible death.


Hmm… Is that so?

Canoel, who was listening to the two people’s conversation, began to move his feet.
It was because he had decided on his destination.
‘That’s right, how could I have forgotten that! I came all the way to the central continent, so I can’t just not go to meet my idol!’
The idol that Canoel was talking about was none other than Ian.
After Canoel watched a couple of Ian’s combat videos on YouCast, he had become a complete fan of Ian.
Ian’s combat abilities, where he was able to rule over the battleground while managing his Familiars quite freely, was his idea of a perfect utopia.
‘Alright, then it looks like I just need to find out where the Pyro Domain is now!’
After discovering a Knight user that was walking towards him from the front, Canoel approached him with quick footsteps.
Different from the other users, whose appearances were clean as they just arrived at the central continent, his armour was completely covered in sand.
Even just by looking at him, he could sense that he was a user that had been in the central continent for a long time already.

Excuse me, sorry, but could I ask you something?


Yes, go ahead.


It’s nothing much, but I was wondering if you knew which direction you had to go in order to go to the Pyro Domain by any chance.

At Canoel’s words, the man, who had looked over his appearance, wore a puzzled expression as he asked back.

The Pyro Domain? You’re talking about the Domain of the Lotus Guild, right?


Yes. That’s right.


Hmm… Your level is too low…

The man’s gaze was on Canoel’s ID and level.
• Summoner Canoel – Lv 100
As Canoel, who was taken aback, hesitated, the man’s words continued.

Well, still, you’ve equipped yourself completely with top-class gear. As long as you’ve got some control, I think you’ll be able to manage getting there.

To Canoel, who was the heir of SH Electronics in real life, his lv 100 top-class gear was basically the price of gum to him, and it may be obvious, but he had plastered every part on him with just the top-class items.
Canoel smiled brightly as he opened his mouth.

Ah, what a relief. My control is actually not that bad, so, huhu.

The man, who smirked, pointed in the direction with his finger as he began explaining.

Go straight out that way…

Seu-reu-reuk-.

What, what the-?

Ian, who was walking, became flustered after seeing the sand underneath his feet move.

Kaizar, are you sure we’re able to go this way?

Kaizar nodded his head as he replied with an expression like it was no big deal.

Yes. Why would I lie to you?

Kaizar, who finished speaking, walked forward with big strides.
And shortly after, Ian’s two eyes couldn’t help but widen.
Swaaah-!
That was because the sand blew up into a vortex-like shape as it sucked in Kaizar.
And Kaizar vanished completely from his spot.
The expression that he sunk into the ground was a little more accurate.

Huk!

While Ian was taken aback, Bbakbbak, who was next to him, opened his mouth.
• Owner, I feel Kaizar’s strength from inside there. I think that’s the entrance of the altar that Kaizar was talking about.

You, you think so?

Because the scene where he was swallowed by the sand was quite shocking, his feet didn’t move easily, but Ian slowly began to move.

It’s not like there’s a weird desert monster underneath and I’ll end up getting eaten or something, right?

And before Ian could even take five steps…

Aaack-!

Along with a single cry, Ian’s body was sucked into the desert sand.
And Paulean and Celia, who followed behind him, also moved their feet.
Seu-seu-seuk-.
Shortly after, the pile of sand that had swallowed the whole party, returned to its calm state as if nothing had happened.
• ‘The Altar of Selamus’, which holds the history of ancient summoning, has been discovered for the first time.
• Your Fame has increased by 10 thousand.
• All combat abilities have permanently increased by 10.
• Your Leadership and Affinity have permanently increased by 50 each.
Along with the sound of the system messages that rang out one after another, Ian fell into the dark, secret cave.
Thud-.
• Due to a fall in a defenseless state, your Vitality has been decreased by 175.
Ian, who plummeted onto the ground after being completely covered in sand, grumbled to himself.

Ah, this, does it have to be this mentally disorganizing and inhospitable?

However, aside from his complaining mouth, he was all smiles.
Since the reward that he received as the first discoverer was better than what he expected.
‘It’s a gift from the gods! I don’t know about anything else, but increased Leadership and Affinity alone are already like honey.’
Once the whole party gathered after a moment, Ian began to move his feet again.

Kaizar, is this place that altar that you were talking about?

At Ian’s question, Kaizar nodded his head without hesitation.

That’s right. This is also a place that I found by chance while wandering the battleground back then.

With Kaizar at the head, the party slowly began to walk towards the inside, and the dark, secret cave began to brighten little by little.
‘Hmm, it definitely does look like there will be something in there…’
However, just then, an unwelcoming system message popped up.
• This is a sealed underground area with limited oxygen.
• Your movements have been slowed by 10%, and 0.1% of your maximum Vitality will be decreased per second.
• Your Vitality has been reduced by 127.
Ian frowned.

What the hell, you could even die through lack of oxygen?

If 0.1% of his Vitality was reduced per second, then it meant that his Vitality would be completely depleted in about 17 minutes.
Of course, he could endure it through Vitality recovery items or skills, but because everybody’s Vitality was reduced, there was no mistake that it was an incredibly fussy circumstance.
Kaizar laughed at Ian.

You lack training. I don’t receive any damage with just this much oxygen.

And amongst the party members, only Kaizar was fine.
Ian shook his head.
‘As expected, a monster.’
As they slowly entered while managing their Vitalities, the secret cave widened little by little.
And shortly after, an open space appeared in front of the party’s eyes, and in the middle of it, a giant, golden bronze statue stood.
The statue looked like a monster serpent that was flying up into the air as if it was ascending, and in front of that an elder with a giant greatsword on his back.
Ian asked Kaizar with a puzzled expression.

Retainer, do you know that elder?

Kaizar nodded his head.

Of course, I know him.

Kaizar, who paused for a moment to take a breath, grinned as he slowly opened his mouth.

You could say he’s the only elderly still alive after facing me with a sword.

[1] Canoel is the son of a wealthy family and heir of SH Electronics, who spends a ton of money in-game without really researching how to properly play the game.