907

 [Chapter 225]

[The Last Fate]

The following information became known while conquering black dungeons before regression:

One, monsters living in black dungeons are different from known monsters.

The skill stones and materials obtained from them are special, unique, and rare.

Since such outrageous creatures appear, it's natural for such things to come out.

In other words, it means monsters inhabiting black dungeons possess such powerful strength.

In fact, Eun-ha knew well about their strength.

One, once you enter a black dungeon, you can't go outside without conquering the dungeon.

One, once you enter a black dungeon, a dungeon guide takes on the role of guiding conquerors to the deepest part.

Meanwhile, black dungeons were a world of a different dimension from yellow and red dungeons.

Yellow and red dungeons transform worlds existing in reality into dungeons.

But when you step into a black dungeon, you move to another world from there.

A world not based on reality makes you feel like you've come to a different dimension.

It's not just one world.

Inside black dungeons, there are multiple worlds in the form of towers or labyrinths.

In Eun-ha's memory, the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea> consisted of 30 worlds in total.

Each world had different clear conditions and exhausted people.

One, when a black dungeon is conquered, the frequency of monsters appearing in nearby areas decreases.

One, the conqueror who contributed the most can fulfill any wish.

Lastly, along with the first information, these two pieces of information can be said to be the reason people called for conquering black dungeons before regression.

A better world than now.

And a world without monsters.

With the conquest of the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea> as a catalyst, people around the world call for conquering black dungeons in their countries of residence.

Korea was the same.

Eventually, Korea couldn't overcome public opinion and officially accepts the conquest players had been unofficially conducting.

That time was when Eun-ha was 32 years old before regression.

It was 3 years from the current point in time.

"You're going to conquer the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea>? Did I hear that wrong?"

"No."

"You've gone completely mad."

At this time, the development of northern Gyeonggi Province hadn't yet reached Cheorwon, Gangwon Province where the black dungeon was located.

The Southern European Union hadn't even started full-scale conquest of the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea>.

That was still 1-2 years away.

In such a situation.

Eun-ha suddenly visited Im Ga-eul and brought up conquering a black dungeon for the first time in the world.

"You're crazy to die. Insane."

It wasn't unreasonable for Im Ga-eul to say such things incredulously.

☆

It was late at night.

Im Ga-eul, who was about to rest comfortably after finishing work, was in a bad mood from an untimely visit.

Moreover, the other party abruptly said they would conquer a black dungeon.

If it were her usual self, she would have driven the other party away out of irritation.

If only it wasn't Noh Eun-ha.

Just for that, it could be said Im Ga-eul exercised patience.

"Do you know how preposterous conquering a black dungeon is when you say that?"

Im Ga-eul sighed.

There was no need to speak at length.

Just Japan alone had tried to conquer the one black dungeon located in Kagoshima several times.

Of course, the conquest failed miserably.

There were no survivors.

Besides this, China and other countries also produced the same results while trying to conquer black dungeons.

There was a reason the International Mana Management Organization evaluated black dungeons as an unknown realm humanity currently cannot conquer.

"Yes, please allow me to conquer the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea>."

"Crazy bastard..."

But Eun-ha was insisting on conquering a black dungeon as if he was going to die.

Im Ga-eul was just exasperated.

She calmed down somewhat and said.

"We were thinking of conquering the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea> someday too. Because we'd be able to go up above Cheorwon if we conquer that dungeon." "Yes, that's right."

"But aren't there tasks that need to be resolved first? Right now, the development of northern Gyeonggi Province isn't complete, and we haven't even recaptured Cheorwon, Gangwon Province, but you want to conquer a black dungeon first? Does that make sense?" "So I want Pandora Clan to be the main force and form a conquest team. If Fairy approves, other clans will probably be interested too..."

"You're a public figure now. The Twelve Seat leader. Don't you know that?"

Im Ga-eul pointed out.

Eun-ha knew too.

It wasn't hard to imagine.

If he tries to leave for Cheorwon, Gangwon Province to conquer a black dungeon, public sentiment might backlash.

It wouldn't look good for a hero who should be working for the country to pursue private interests.

"I don't care." "..."

"I have a reason why I must conquer a black dungeon now. If necessary, I'll return the Twelve Seat leader position. I'll leave some of the Twelve Seats in our clan too." "..." "I'm thinking of giving up the Twelve Seats' positions too."

"You've come this far, and suddenly you'll let go of everything you've grasped? Really, this is maddening. But do you remember the background of how you became the Twelve Seat leader?" "..."

"The position you're sitting in now isn't one you can step down from just because you want to."

"...I know."

"You're still saying this?"

Eun-ha became the leader by others' will.

He resolved to devote himself to the country as the Twelve Seat leader to pay for his and his father's crimes.

So Eun-ha couldn't step down from being the leader just because he wanted to.

But that was─

"─My noona became a Twelve Seat for the same reason as me, right?" "..."

"So noona can't quit being a Twelve Seat on her own either, right?"

It was the same for Noh Eun-ah.

Now that people in the world have realized about Noh Eun-ah, one Twelve Seat position was vacant.

Im Ga-eul was aware of this too.

She frowned.

"So? Are you saying bringing Eun-ah back is related to conquering a black dungeon?"

"Yes, that's right."

"What's the relationship?"

Im Ga-eul asked.

Eun-ha answered her question.

Her face became strange at the words that any wish could be fulfilled if a black dungeon is conquered.

"How do you know that?" "..."

Information about black dungeons wasn't publicly available in the world.

Because there were no survivors.

So Im Ga-eul questioned Eun-ha's answer.

Eun-ha hesitated to answer.

"Actually..."

But he had no choice but to tell the truth to get Im Ga-eul's permission.

Eun-ha was about to open his mouth.

Then, Im Ga-eul stopped him.

"No, never mind." "..."

"It's not that important for me to know your secret now. Having come this far, I have a rough guess of what your identity might be. What's important now is that you can make a wish if you conquer a black dungeon, right?"

Im Ga-eul's consideration.

Eun-ha nodded.

Then Im Ga-eul fell into thought.

Soon she opened her mouth.

"We received contact from Italy. It's been about a week now?"

"Italy?"

It was a sudden change of topic.

Eun-ha tilted his head.

But listening to her story, it wasn't a sudden topic.

"You probably don't know, but exactly 20 years ago from now, there was a Korea-Italy summit. At that time, we made a certain negotiation with the Italian side." "A certain negotiation?"

Eun-ha asked back.

It was the first time he heard this.

It didn't happen before regression.

The Korea-Italy summit ended with bringing back Koreans isolated in Italy.

And most of them were living with foreigners in Yongsan-gu.

So it was just surprising that there was one more negotiation he didn't know about in the Korea-Italy summit.

"Well, at that time it was just something added spontaneously because there was nothing to add. But it might be helpful now. It was to let our country also participate when Italy conquers the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea> later."

"..."

"And the contact this time was asking if Korea is interested in participating as they plan to conquer the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea> around next year."

Eun-ha was at a loss for words for a moment.

Something became a butterfly effect allowing Korea to participate in conquering the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea>.

If it's conquering the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea>...

The difficulty might be somewhat easier compared to the <Dungeon of the Abyss>.

Eun-ha turned his head.

Before regression, Eun-ha had read the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea> conquest guide so much he could recite it by heart.

Moreover, he also had key talent for the conquest.

Noh Avenir.

Avenir, who was called <Diamond Fist> before regression, greatly contributed to the conquest.

Also, since the Southern European Union is gathering, there will be quite a few players with excellent skills.

Of course, there were problems too.

Reading a conquest guide and experiencing the <Dungeon of the Deep Sea> myself will be very different.

Compared to that, I've been to the deepest part of the <Dungeon of the Abyss> before regression, so conquering it should be somewhat easier.

There were more problems besides this.

It takes at least two weeks to nearly a month to go to Italy.

We might have difficulty communicating with Italian players.

Above all─

"─When next year did they say?" "I'm not sure of the exact schedule, but they were thinking around the end of next year."

That's too late.

According to Precise Memory, the world's will isn't easy.

Although we remember Noh Eun-ah now, we'll forget again as time passes.

In fact, Eun-ha was feeling his memory becoming blurry if he didn't forcibly recall her.

We don't know what will happen if we wait until then.

We don't know if we can defeat the boss monster, but we have no choice but to head to Cheorwon.

Eun-ha conveyed his thoughts.

Im Ga-eul didn't strongly deny either.

Quick decision and quick execution.

It was better to conquer the black dungeon while remembering Noh Eun-ah.

"Okay, fine. Then let me ask one thing." "Yes."

"Can you really be confident?"

"..."

"Are you confident you can conquer it?"

After a long conversation.

Im Ga-eul finally gave in.

Eun-ha had one thing to say.

"Yes, I will succeed in the conquest."

"Alright, I'll allow it. But keep in mind you can't include Twelve Seats from other clans in the conquest team." "I'll do that. Thank you."

And so.

Eun-ha was able to form a black dungeon conquest team with Pandora Clan as the main force.

 ☆

He received Im Ga-eul's permission.

Now what Eun-ha had to do was announce to the world that he would conquer a black dungeon and recruit for the conquest team.

Since it's a conquest with unknown odds of success... I'll probably have to borrow the strength of regional clans under Pandora Clan's jurisdiction.

The Fairy government's support was very minimal.

It was up to the participating clans to resolve things on their own.

In other words, it could be said that rewards obtained from the black dungeon would be distributed entirely to conquest team members.

"I should ask Seo-hyeon to get support from business groups."

He needed to form the conquest team as quickly as possible.

Eun-ha recalled what he had to do and was about to leave the Blue House.

It was right then.

"It seems the future I saw was correct after all."

"<Star-Counting Witch>."

Song Yun-seo walked from the other end of the hallway.

She didn't seem to find it strange meeting Eun-ha at this hour.

Rather, she had a face as if she had foreseen Eun-ha would come.

"You probably told the Fairy you would conquer a black dungeon and are on your way back?" "Yes, that's right."

"Looking at your face, it seems the Fairy ultimately allowed it..."

Song Yun-seo trailed off.

She frowned.

It was a displeased face.

"Does Pandora Clan Lord know that what I see definitely comes true?"

"You said you see fate? Yes."

"The future I foresee comes true. Even if Pandora Clan Lord has changed fate until now, my prophecies have never missed. Because once I've seen something, it definitely happens."

What is she trying to say?

Eun-ha stared at her.

Then she sighed.

"Until now, I couldn't read Pandora Clan Lord's star. But just now I was able to see Pandora Clan Lord's star."

"..." "It means I saw your fate for the first time."

There was a similar incident before regression.

She had prophesied that he would meet his death in the <Dungeon of the Abyss>.

So Eun-ha wasn't surprised that Song Yun-seo said she saw his fate.

"So? What kind of future was it?"

Even if it's the same as before regression.

Eun-ha intended to definitely enter the black dungeon.

And he will resist fate.

As he has done since regressing.

So he didn't intend to care what Song Yun-seo's answer was.

But her answer was unexpected.

"You were confronting a being that seemed to be the black dungeon's boss. The future ended there." "..."

The future Song Yun-seo saw was different.

Before regression, she had prophesied that Eun-ha would meet his death to the boss.

But this time the future ended at confronting.

In other words─

"─Pandora Clan Lord understands what that means, right?" "..."

"It means how it turns out depends on your choice. You could win, or you could lose."

The future hasn't been decided yet.

It meant there was a chance of victory.

"No matter what I say, Pandora Clan Lord will definitely enter the dungeon. So I'm telling you. No matter how hard the dungeon conquest is, don't give up until the very end."

"...Thank you."

"I wish you good luck."

Song Yun-seo passes by Eun-ha.

Eun-ha expressed his gratitude to her.

Eventually he took a step.

He strides forward.

☆

Conquer a black dungeon.

Clan members who heard those words from Eun-ha each began training.

Byeokhaesoo's workshop also decided to prepare for the black dungeon conquest as soon as they heard the news.

"Since we don't know what will happen there, we need to make sure there are no mistakes in maintaining the kids' devices and artifacts."

Byeokhaesoo gathered people with high positions in the workshop.

He laid out many assumptions to prepare for the unknown dungeon.

A few proposals stood out among them.

"A device that automatically repairs by infusing mana..."

It wasn't something they couldn't make.

They had obtained some information while making the Dawn Sword and Twilight Sword.

As long as there was no severe damage to the device, it should be able to repair automatically.

From that day, Byeokhaesoo began work with the Maestros.

The Creasteors were also busy moving.

Because they had to prepare replacement devices in case devices were completely destroyed.

They couldn't obtain several high-performance devices in a short time.

So they had to prepare for deficiencies using crests.

"Hmm, this isn't enough..."

Still, Byeokhaesoo couldn't feel at ease.

He couldn't grasp how powerful the black dungeon's boss might be.

In the worst case, they had to assume it could be a theoretical 1st rank.

A monster with the power to destroy the world if it wanted to.

If such a monster exists, how should they respond?

There was only one method that came to mind.

Only <White Silver>.

<White Silver> should be able to respond even if it's 1st rank.

Actually, he couldn't be sure.

It was a contradiction.

He didn't know whether the 1st rank would be stronger, or <White Silver>'s power would be stronger.

But it was worth a try.

Considering the worst case scenario, Byeokhaesoo thought <White Silver> might be the key to conquering the black dungeon.

"If only there was a technique to contain <White Silver>'s power in a device..."

Byeokhaesoo groaned.

Until now, a technique to contain <White Silver>'s power hadn't been created.

It was impossible even with Hephaestus' Forge's power.

Because <White Silver>'s power that disperses mana negates other mana.

Even if an effect is granted, it would be temporary.

We can't invest massive materials and long time like with Cocoon...

And we can't make it lightweight to carry around easily, oh...

How is there no way?

Byeokhaesoo pondered every day.

Then one day.

"I made it in a new form." "A new form?" "See for yourself."

Creaster Baek Hyeon-yul.

For once, he came to Byeokhaesoo without a sleepy face.

Then he presented a device.

Byeokhaesoo examined the device.

"What crest did you engrave?" "Flame on this side, wind on the opposite side. I engraved crests on both sides of the blade."

"What?"

Immediately Byeokhaesoo checked the crests engraved on the blade.

Now that he looked, the crests were different.

"It's designed so magic doesn't activate when only one side is activated. This is how it works..." "..."

Baek Hyeon-yul took out oiled paper.

Different crests were drawn on two sheets of oiled paper.

When he overlapped those crests─

"─One magic is completed. When wind magic and flame magic are added, a higher dimensional magic surpassing ordinary fire tornadoes would be created."

Baek Hyeon-yul explained calmly.

Byeokhaesoo was at a loss for words.

All sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind.

It's impossible to contain <White Silver>'s power in one crest. The existence itself can't be established.

But what if we divide an existence that can't be established into two crests?

At least until the magic is activated, wouldn't it be valid as a crest?

Although it could only be used once, wouldn't we be able to activate <White Silver>?

When his thoughts reached that point, he hugged Baek Hyeon-yul.

"This is it! This is it! This is it!! You did really well, Hyeon-yul! You're a real genius! This makes it possible! It's possible!!" "Please... You smell of sweat, get away."

Byeokhaesoo rubbed his unshaven chin against Baek Hyeon-yul's face.

Baek Hyeon-yul made a dying sound.