Chapter 257: Chapter 257

***

“That was delicious. It was fresh and intense,” said Min Sung while wiping his mouth with a wet wipe, and Ho Sung Lee smiled as he took away his bowl.

“Sir, you haven’t checked the ancient document yet, have you?”

“Not yet. Why?”

“I’m just curious. Haha,” responded Ho Sung Lee while cleaning the table.

“We’ll take a break, check it out, and then head out.”

“Sure.”

Ho Sung Lee smiled and hurriedly finished cleaning up.

Meanwhile, Min Sung leaned back against a large tree on the edge of the forest.

He felt full, and the breeze blowing underneath the shade made him feel happy.

A filling meal.

That was happiness for Min Sung, and that value was never going to change as long as he lived.

Min Sung looked at the scenery while rubbing his belly.

He felt comfortable, and that comfort was rest that he wouldn’t trade for anything.

***

Ho Sung Lee finished the dishes and stood in front of Min Sung with twinkling eyes.

He appeared to have been purely curious and excited about the ancient document.

They worked hard to obtain it, and it was a treasure that the dark elves had kept for a very long time.

It was definitely worth getting excited over.

Min Sung called Ssol over from playtime and received the ancient document.

The ancient document was so worn out that it looked like it was about to crumble.

Min Sung took a look at it in a very careful manner, and Ho Sung Lee stuck out his neck to join him.

Aside from the fact that the pages were a little thicker, it wasn’t different from any other document.

There was no title, and the color was typical.

The only thing that differentiated the cover from the rest of the pages was thicker paper.

Min Sung scanned the outer page and then flipped to the first page, and on the white page contained one sentence.

You will find out everything.

What was funny was that the Dionysus Gods gave the players in Beatrice the ability to understand their language.

That ability was power, and as a result, he had no trouble understanding the letters and communicating with others.

That ability was also applied to the ancient document, and as a result, both Min Sung and Ho Sung Lee were able to read through the ancient document.

The first page simply read, ‘You will find out everything.’

That allowed them to predict what ability the ancient document held.

“… This must contain secret information about Beatrice,” Ho Sung Lee said with wide eyes.

Min Sung ignored him and flipped the page.

But the next page was blank without any letters on it.

“Huh? Why is it blank?” Ho Sung Lee asked with knitted brows.

But the blank page soon began to form letters.

This made Ho Sung Lee jolt his eyes wide open, and a bit of brilliance flashed in Min Sung’s eyes as well.

And then a moment later, the page was filled with letters.

The contents of the first page of the ancient document was about a place that wasn’t far from where they were.

It was about a volcano, and that volcano was ruled by a ranker player named Refman.

The page also read that if he happened to defeat Refman, he would obtain substantial reputation.

“That’s crazy… This ancient document is amazing,” Ho Sung Lee said to Min Sung.

Min Sung nodded in agreement.

The biggest headache of Beatrice was the fact that there were no standards.

The fact that the standard of reputation wasn’t clearly set was what slowed him down substantially, but that problem was resolved by this ancient document.

That also meant that it was impossible for him to fail now.

“This is so useful. I can see why the elder, Tude, tried so hard to protect this item.”

“But the fact that he simply kept it locked up without using it could mean that there’s something we don’t know.”

“I’m not sure about that. Maybe that’s just their custom. Their environment was ideal for superstitions.”

“Maybe.”

“Then I guess we’re headed to the volcano,” said Ho Sung Lee with a smile.

Min Sung opened the system window.

As soon as he saw the map, the look in his eyes changed.

Since they didn’t have a destination, their route was undecided, but the ancient document caused for his eyes to light up.

He saw the volcano on the system map, and all he had to do was go there and defeat Refman.

Min Sung enjoyed a glass of Americano and then headed over to the volcano with his party.

***

As they approached the volcano, they felt a noticeable difference in temperature.

It started to become hot before it got so hot that it felt like they were in a sauna.

They saw smoke from afar.

It was clear they were approaching the volcano, and Ho Sung Lee shivered from the bad feeling he got.

After their long journey, they arrived at the lava region.

Ho Sung Lee smoked his cigarette with a frown.

“Wow, it’s so hot here. Why is he here in this heat? I can’t believe people actually live here.”

Ho Sung Lee took a look around.

It was a sight.

“But if we go in and fall into the lava…”

Ho Sung Lee’s face turned pale, and his lips turned into a frown.

That was how scary the sight looked in front of him.

Just the sight of the black ground covered in volcanic ash caused for his body to freeze up.

Ho Sung Lee cowered from his fear of mother nature, and the same went for Ssol.

Ssol trembled and expressed his anxiousness through his eyes.

Only Min Sung and Bowl stood emotionless in front of the volcano.

“Ho Sung,” called Min Sung while looking around.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Begin exploring.”

“… Sorry?”

“Find where Refman might be. You’re my supporter.”

Min Sung glared at Ho Sung Lee as if he was asking if that was a serious question.

“Oh… You’re right. I am.”

Ho Sung Lee breathed in. He smacked his lips and dripped in sweat.

Truthfully speaking, Ho Sung Lee felt overwhelmed as soon as they got to the volcano.

He already felt overwhelmed by the atmosphere, so he felt terrified at the thought of going off to explore all by himself in the midst of lava.

But since this was his job, he didn’t think for long.

“Yes, Sir.”

Ho Sung Lee began walking with determination.

He stepped on the black ground and used his skill to begin his search.

***

While Ho Sung Lee set out to find the ruler of the volcano, Refman, Min Sung also began to explore the volcano.

He walked for quite some time without spotting a single Beatrice native or player, and there wasn’t even a trace of them.

He suspected if someone really lived here, but the ancient document told them that Refman was right here at this volcano.

Min Sung didn’t think the ancient document could lie, so he continued to walk further into the volcano.

And then he finally spotted a trace.

It was a mark.

Someone’s footstep was left behind, and he was certain it didn’t belong to Ho Sung Lee…

… Because it wasn’t just a few footsteps.

They appeared to belong to those who lived near the volcano.

Seeing how there were different footprints left behind, not only did the ruler, Refman, lived here, but there were others as well, but he didn’t see anyone.

When he walked in further, he began to see lava here and there.

The lava was blindingly bright.

Min Sung took a look at the lava before taking out his Gungnir S from his item window.

At the same time, a large body came out from within the lava.

It was a monster, and it resembled a rock golem that was covered in lava.

He growled as he dripped in lava.

“This is the territory of Refman. You may not enter,” said the monster.

Min Sung stared at the monster in surprise that he could speak.

“Where’s Refman?”

In response, the monster began to give off a strong will to fight.

It was quite powerful for an average monster, and he was even stronger than the ranker players that he had met so far.

But Min Sung still didn’t show a response.

He was just a little stronger than the ranker players he had defeated, but in his standards, he was nothing but a low-ranking type.

“Step aside, or you’re dead,” said Min Sung.

But as a monster whose purpose was to protect the players, he had no intention of letting Min Sung in.

It was bothersome, but a fight was inevitable.

Min Sung looked at the monster with a straight face and pulled his Gungnir S back.

Since he didn’t look like he was going to answer so easily, he had to cut off one of his lips to get him to talk.

Min Sung swung his Gungnir S.

Kaboom!

Along with a loud, thunderous and lightning sound, the powerful magic power charged toward the monster made of lava.

The magic power slashed through the monster’s body, but it simply made a small wound and not much else.

And that also meant that the monster had a chance to retaliate.

The monster was agile, and in just a blink of an eye, the monster popped up in front of Min Sung and swung his fist.

Min Sung immediately kicked back to create a distance and charged his Gungnir S with magic power.

He came to the conclusion that he had to widen the scope rather than intensity to brow the lava away.

The expanded magic power was launched from his Gungnir S.

A wide array of magic power charged toward the monster.