The Ruined World Was Mistaken for a Game-Chapter 27.1: Toward the Main Story (4)
Translator: Dreamscribe
It was despairing.
No matter how hard he tried to think optimistically, only that word came to mind.
Thud! Thud!
A troll with a massive build walked forward slowly.
With each step, the ground shook, and clouds of dust rose. Its enormous frame, far surpassing the size of an average human by three or four times, gave off an overwhelming presence, as if a building were moving.
The huge club it held became a torch, oozing a sticky liquid like a swamp. It resembled the putrid fluid one might expect from a decayed corpse.
Drip! Drip!
From the liquid that fell to the ground, black flames erupted. Along with the flames, a foul smoke filled the air, clouding their vision.
It was as if it were warning them: You will become like this too.
But it wasn’t only the troll that instilled despair.
A lich arrogantly looked down from the sky at Jinwoo and the other players.
Kwaaaa!
When the lich flicked its finger, a storm of darkness raged and fell upon Jinwoo and the players.
The surroundings darkened as the light gradually dimmed.
Despair, like a giant snake with its mouth wide open, was swallowing Jinwoo and the players whole.
Jinwoo’s sword trembled.
Just from the tremors created by the troll, his body staggered, and his wounds opened wider. Blood dropped to the ground with a splattering sound. As it touched the darkness, it bubbled and evaporated instantly.
It was dangerous. And pitiful.
Like a candle before a typhoon, like a sandcastle facing a tidal wave, the result seemed already decided even without watching. That’s why one might call it fate.
However...
As Jinwoo faltered and was about to collapse, the players held him up from both sides. The players who had been behind him stood beside him. Not everything had collapsed just yet.
The Northern Grand Duke raised her two-handed axe.
Life Hunter, who had lost one arm, held a dagger in his mouth and drew his jungle blade. Haebyul, having exhausted all her strength, barely drew her bowstring, and the last remaining mage placed his hand on his staff, casting a spell.
[Surviving Heroes: 12]
All the players raised their weapons and confronted despair head-on.
Thud! Thud!
The troll reached Jinwoo and the players. With a foul grin, it raised its massive club. From the club, a black stream burst out and shook the surroundings.
A single swing would be enough.
The troll gripped the club with both hands, intending to smash all the players into pulp in one blow.
But, if they did not give up...!
Jinwoo and the players advanced toward the troll. Just the stormy black current from the troll’s club made their bodies waver greatly and be pushed back.
“Krrrk! Krrr!”
A death sentence had been declared.
Just as the troll was about to slam its club down on Jinwoo and the players with all its might.
Whoosh!
A light pierced through the despairing darkness.
It was a very small light.
A tiny particle of light fell from the sky and struck the troll’s body.
Boom!
Though it was such a small light, the troll was pushed back several steps as if it had been hit by a cannon.
“What is that?”
“Light?”
The players’ eyes widened at the sudden turn of events.
Boom!
Another particle of light struck the troll’s body. The troll staggered and dropped its massive club to the ground.
“Kuaaaaah!”
The troll roared and tried to charge at Jinwoo and the players. But it couldn’t.
Because the particles of light, one by one, kept pushing the troll back.
“F-from the sky...!”
Haebyul shouted as she looked up at the sky.
Jinwoo and the players lifted their heads to look at the sky. Then, light filled everyone’s eyes.
If one does not give up, perhaps a miracle can happen.
Because they did not give up, the miracle was granted.
Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, and then millions.
As the crimson sky was dyed with brilliant light, easily sweeping away the thick black clouds, a snow of light poured down from the heavens.
[K-Kraaah! This light! Ella...! Kuh! What is this! Who... who are you!!]
The lich looked up at the sky and howled. Having lost its arrogance, it spread its arms in a pathetic and pitiful manner, struggling against the bombardment of light raining down like arrows.
It released all of its dark power with full force, but it was useless.
This time, it was the lich that resembled a dying candle, a crumbling sandcastle.
[Kuaaaah!]
The power of darkness vanished in vain the moment it touched the light.
Swept up by the light, the lich plummeted from the sky to the ground. Where the particles of light touched the earth, the ashen ground disappeared, and sprouts began to bloom.
“Ah...”
“Wow! It’s so pretty.”
“I-I can’t even speak properly.”
It was radiant and beautiful.
The players rejoiced like children within the falling light.
“This is....”
Jinwoo reached out his hand toward the falling particles of light. A particle of light gently landed on his hand.
Jinwoo carefully closed his fist.
The particle of light shattered, then turned into a warm breeze that softly embraced the players.
“Goddess Ella... has summoned the will of the Heroes.”
At Jinwoo’s words, Haebyul tilted her head.
“Their will?”
Jinwoo smiled and pointed his finger at the sky.
The sky was filled with text. It was written in Korean, English, and various other languages.
Haebyul immediately lost her senses.
[Click it quickly!]
[ㅋㅋplease sell me some Soul Links.]
[I want to play too! Why don't I have a Soul Link.]
[Don't die! Win!]
[This actually works? So amazing. What level of technology is thisㅋㅋ]
[ㅋㅋㅋI think we're appearing on the broadcast?]
[Write nicely in chat. This will be preserved.]
[Leon-nim I love you love you love you!]
“Huh?”
“Chat?”
The players who looked up at the sky blinked. Where the crimson sky had cleared, countless chat messages had appeared. From there, the light was descending.
“S-so embarrassing.”
“Ahem....”
-What's with this direction ㅋㅋㅋ
-Arsilan Worlds official broadcast go go, it is still possible ㅋㅋ
-Leon-nim is watching. Super embarrassing. Seriously.
-Ah! I’m buying a Soul Link!
That kind of thing is the will of the Heroes?
Haebyul, her viewers, and the players were overwhelmed by embarrassment.
Because Jinwoo was smiling as he looked at it all.
Whoooooosh!
The countless chats gradually gathered and became a magic circle filling the sky, radiating brilliant light.
“Goddess Ella sacrificed everything to summon the Heroes to Arsilan. Because they possess the courage and noble will to overcome the Erosion that no one could stand against.”
At Jinwoo’s warm words, all the players looked at him.
“The Heroes have allowed me to embrace the hope and dreams I had once lost. And now, they have even made it possible for me to wish for a miracle.”
Jinwoo’s face lit up with a bright smile.
“People of Arsilan call those who create miracles ‘Heroes’.”
Jinwoo reached his hand out toward the players.
“Please, lend me the strength to create a miracle.”
Jinwoo pleaded sincerely.
It was a message directed at both the players who were there and everyone watching.
Haebyul, who had been staring at Jinwoo’s hand, was the first to grasp it. Light shimmered in response.
“Of course!”
“I’ll do anything!”
“Waaaah! Huhuhu! I won't give up! Huhuhu!”
“Khuuuaaaah!”
“...Sniff.”
When Haebyul extended her other hand, the players joined hands with one another.
Some players beamed with joy, while others burst into tears. The Northern Grand Duke sniffled, and Life Hunter nodded with a deep smile.
The moment all the players were connected, the radiant particles of light that had been pouring down began to gather in one place.
They formed a sphere filled with warm light, refreshing wind, and beautiful will.
Fwaaaash!
The sphere of light soared back into the sky, spreading beautiful rays of light. When it collided with the magic circle filling the sky
Kuwaaaaaa!
It became a massive pillar of light and fell back to the ground. A pillar of light connecting heaven and earth had appeared.
From within that pillar of light, someone walked out quietly.
It was a woman wearing a nun's habit.
Wrapped in light from head to toe, she slowly walked toward the players. With every step she took, footprints made of light appeared beneath her feet.
“Ah....”
“Whoa....”
The players were dazed.
Even though her eyes were covered by a black cloth, and her body was wrapped in an ordinary nun’s robe, her beauty could not be concealed.
She was so beautiful that one could even sense divinity from her.
“Saintess.”
Jinwoo bowed his head respectfully to her.
At the word 'Saintess', the players looked at her in surprise. They definitely remembered seeing her in the video posted on the official homepage.
-Wow...
-Saintess noona...
-Whoa... standing next to Leon-nim, there’s no way we can approach.
As if they had been enchanted, they couldn’t take their eyes off her.
The Saintess looked at the players.
“The courage of the Heroes became light and guided me to this land.”
When the Saintess extended her hand, a burst of light spread out, and the players’ wounds healed instantly.
“The battle is not over yet.”
The Saintess spoke firmly, as if making a declaration.
Kuaaaaah!
The troll, which had been thrown far away, roared.
The lich that had crashed into the ground released a thick darkness and rose again. The darkness was raising its head once more.
The battle was not yet over.
That powerful lich and that terrifying troll were still emanating their cursed energy.
The battlefield once again filled with tension.
“But do not be afraid.”
The Saintess smiled at the players.
“My name is Airi, servant of Goddess Ella. From now on, I will assist the Heroes.”
Saintess Airi clasped her hands in prayer and bowed her head.
Particles of light burst forth from her body and touched the ground around the players. From those spots, pillars of light began to soar upward.
Haebyul stared at one of the light pillars rising next to her.
Her face was instantly filled with astonishment.
“Huh? U-UruBear-nim?”
Someone appeared from within.
[Surviving Heroes: 13]
A miracle had been born.
* * *
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Chapter 27.1: Toward the Main Story (4)
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