Chapter 102: Juliels Wilderness (2).
Woojin opened his Point Store to see if there were any items regarding this event. The Point Store had Skill Books but it also sold numerous regular books as well.
[Stewardship of the Dimensional Domain]
"I guess this is it...."
It was manual on how to govern a Dimensional Domain, and the price was 2,000 Achievement Points. However, it wasn't the price that was a problem.
The problem was there was a lock on it, so he wouldn't be able to read it at all.
<Only the Corresponding Grade can have access to it.>
Woojin looked at his Stat Menu to check his Grade Menu. Woojin hadn't paid much attention to it since it had stayed the same. There weren't any numbers or marks. It was empty.
"Whatever."
It wasn't going to work right now. It wasn't as if he would get more answer from worrying about it.
It would have been better if he had a guide, but it wasn't as if not having a guide would deter him from going forward.
Woojin chose the 'Clear' option.
<You are attempting the Clear Mode.>
<When you complete the Clear, you will be able to earn Achievement Points.>
"Hmmm. This is a bit different."
He knew what to expect since he had entered Rashmode's Dungeon before. He had thought the Clear Mode was akin to breaking into another house to plunder it. He never expected the rewards to be quite good...
"Is this Trahnet's doing?"
The rules that bastard operated under was more of a mystery than it was understood.
One thing that was for sure was that Woojin had been adrift on a boundless expanse of water, but now he felt as if he had found a compass.
Kahng-woojin's eyes twinkled.
When he passed through the newly formed red portal, he appeared in an open field.
Chilly winds blew across the plains as Gray Wolves wandered around. In the distance, a large purple pillar of light drew Woojin's eyes.
Juliel was over there.
He felt a hunch telling him so.
"Koo-roo-roo."
The Gray Wolves in the surrounding saw Woojin and swarmed towards him. There weren't any features on the terrain. It was basically an open plain. The wolves were adept at fighting in a group, so this was the perfect environment for the wolves to bite and kill intruders.
Unfortunately, this particular intruder also liked wide open plains for battle.
"Open a path for me."
Pah-pah-paht.
At Woojin's command, the black smoke around him coalesced into Death Knights as they were summoned. They summoned their Phantom Steeds, then charged towards the wolves prowling around Woojin.
The Death Knights could summon any number of Skeleton Soldiers they needed, so the Death Knights summoned a portion of their troops. Woojin only job was to replace a broken Skeleton Soldier or add more Skeleton Soldiers under their command when the Death Knights leveled up.
"Let's go."
Woojin summoned Shing Shing and he mounted. Bibi was summoned, taking her place on top of Shing Shing's head. Dolsae was in the form of a Golem's Heart, circling around Woojin's head.
The Immortal Army galloped across the wilderness.
*
A pillar of purple light was extending into the sky. The space above was pitch black so it was questionable to call it a sky. Moreover, one couldn't see the end to the pillar of light. It kept traveling upwards endlessly.
The light was being emitted from an underground building.
It was hard to call it a building. It was basically a cave.
Woojin smirked when he stood in front of the entrance to the cave.
"So he ran away to this place?"
The entrance to the cave was large enough, so only Juliel could go in and out of it. It was too small for all the Immortal Army to enter into it. Woojin got off his Phantom Steed and the Death Knights followed behind him.
The cave wasn't that deep. Soon, they appeared at a space that was the size of a soccer stadium. The unique feature of this place was that the ceiling was open and a large purple gem was sending a purple light into the sky.
Juliel was resting his long body in front of it.
"I thought you were going to run away. Did you give up?"
[I gave up.]
"How unexpected."
[I have no reason to fight an arduous battle.]
It wouldn't turn out well. Juliel let out a sigh.
[I made a mistake in rashly making a gate to earth.]
Woojin's eyes shone at the word gate. He remembered the words of the Holy Maiden. Her plan had been to obtain a Dimensional Domain. She was going to send an expedition to Alphen after opening a gate.
"I'll be visiting you often from now on to play with you guys."
[What kind of nonsense are you spouting?]
"......."
[You really don't know anything.]
When Woojin tilted head in puzzlement, Juliel shook his head.
[If you Clear the Dungeon, the gate disappears. There is no reason for me to face you again.]
When the gate he opened to earth disappeared from his Domain, he would have no business that'll bring him back to earth unless he wanted to open the gate again. He would never take the opportunity to face the terrifying Immortal again.
Should he consider it fortunate that Kahng-woojin had chosen the Clear Mode?
Even if he died here, it would allow Juliel to be reborn once again.
[Let us say our farewell.]
"Are you going to meekly allow me to kill you?"
[That won't be happening.]
Juliel raised his body. Did Juliel's body look bigger on earth or was he mistaken?
[You've made a mistake.]
Sss-ahhhhhhhh.
The plants growing haphazardly around the plains let out a green energy. It was absorbed into Juliel's body. After receiving the Blessing of the Wilderness, Juliel's body started to become smaller.
He was getting smaller and smaller.
He wasn't actually getting smaller. He was being compressed.
Heat started to pour out of Juliel's body.
"Hoo-ooooooh."
After he let out a ragged breath, Juliel stood on his two feet.
"Werewolf?"
"I just borrowed their outer appearance. Koo-hoohoo."
Woojin tilted his head.
"A crazy dog?"
"Koo-hooo. I want to tear you into dozen pieces."
"You don't have the ability to do so."
"Koo-hoohoo. That's right. If you die here even once, it would be the end for you."
"Stop barking like a dog."
Dog. Dog. This bastard kept treating him like a dog.
A red light lit inside Juliel's eyes.
"I'll kill you."
Juliel let out a cold laugh. He saw the cat next to Woojin run towards him.
Is it his pet?
The cat had a cute and mesmerizing eyes. However, Juliel was in a foul mood, since the owner of the pet was the Immortal.
"Nyahng."
Juliel kicked the cat that had been running at him.
Shwahhhhhk.
Juliel pushed off one leg and, in a flash, charged towards Woojin. Juliel's front paws had turned into hands, but the hands had sharp and thick nails. The nails were akin to swords.
Kahhhhhhng!
Kiba's axe blocked Juliel's claws.
"Annoying pests."
Kah-ahng, kwahng!
Kiba blocked Juliel's claws on consecutive blows, but he was sent sliding backwards by a kick from Juliel.
It was an overwhelming strength.
[Goo-rooroo.]
Kiba let out a low growl. It seemed his pride was hurt, since he was losing in terms of strength.
Juliel didn't care about the familiars. He kept aiming for Woojin.
His smaller body meant he had gained explosive agility, and he hadn't lost any of his strength. It was amazing.
[You shall not pass!]
Kwahhng!
Ramson's hammer blocked Juliel's attack.
The hammer absorbed the impact, and the damage was turned around against Juliel.
Booooohng, boohng!
No matter how fearsome a power was, it was useless if one couldn't hit one's target.
Juliel nimbly dodged all of Ramson's attack. He aimed his sharp and long nails for Ramson's skull.
Ramson quickly lowered his head to avoid the blow, but half of his helm was sheared off.
[You dare!]
The enraged Ramson hugged Juiel, and the Death Knight from the side brought down a great sword towards Juliel's neck.
Ggahng.
It was hard to believe this was the hide of an animal. Accompanying the sound, the sword bounced off Juliel. He twisted to his body to escaped. He left the Death Knights behind, and he ran towards Woojin.
'I'll kill him.'
He didn't have the time to tussle with the Immortal's familiars.
This was how one dealt with a Necromancer.
Their familiars would be summoned once again no matter how many times one killed them. However, once the Necromancer was killed, the familiars went back to being a ragtag group of monsters.
[You shall not pass!]
The Necromancer and his familiars seemed well aware of this fact, so they were on constant guard around the Immortal. Juliel used the most minimal movement to arrive in front of his opponent.
'I don't have much time left.'
The Blessing of the Wilderness had a short duration.
It was regrettable, but in turn, it gave Juliel an explosive amount of power.
The Immortal had stepped into his Domain through his own volition. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to kill him.
'If only I could engage him in a fight.'
If he could shed the annoying familiars, he would be able to kill the Immortal with one blow. He just need to get their first. Juliel had thought through this more than couple dozen of times through the years. This was the way to confront a Necromancer.
He would always lose in a fight for numeric superiority. He needed enough power to overwhelm the Necromancer's familiars.
The Domain's innate effect and the Blessing of the Wilderness would give him that power.
"Die!"
Juliel approached Woojin from the front and extended his claws.
If he had enough time, he would have killed all the familiars. Then, he would have slowly savored the death of the Immortal. However, the Blessing of the Wilderness that was compressing his body was on a time limit, and the end was imminent.
At most, he had 10 seconds.
However, one second would be enough to kill this bastard.
Kah-ahng!
Woojin raised his Steel Staff to block Juliel's claws. Woojin jumped backward as if he was at a disadvantage in terms of strength. However, he had enough reaction speed to be able to block the attack...
Eight seconds.
Chwahhhk, ggahng!
Before Juliel's claws could break open the head of the astonished Immortal, a Death Knight ran in to take the blow instead.
Kwah-jee-jeek!
Both the weapon and claws burrowed into the Death Knight. The Death Knight's armor was crumpled as he was severed in half.
Six seconds.
He was in a hurry, but he still had some time left. The Immortal's flustered expression said it all. He would be able to kill this bastard.
Shwahhk, kahng!
The bastard's Steel Staff turned into a greatsword, and he blocked Juliel's attack. However, there was too much of a difference in terms of strength, so the great sword was knocked into the air. If Woojin had held onto it, it would have ripped his hands open.
3 seconds.
He won.
Juliel's claws pierced the weaponless Kahng-woojin's heart.
Juliel had killed him.
The Immortal....
"I did it."
The Commanders of the higher Thrones hadn't been able to do it, yet he had done it. He only possessed two lower Thrones.
Kahng-woojin's moment of failure... He couldn't help but laugh.
"Idiot."
"How...."
"Even if a dog is smart, it is still a dog."
"......."
Juliel's surrounding seemed to fluctuate dizzily as it spun in circles.
His body was slanted upward towards the ceiling and he was looking up at Woojin.
"How...."
"My little devil has a bit of a bad habit."
"......."
Juliel's gaze headed towards the cat.
Pah-paht.
The cat's appearance changed to that of a little demon.
Ah. He remembered now. She was the Illusion Witch.
"It was a hallucination...."
"You danced pretty well."
"......."
Juliel looked around, and the Death Knights were still standing where he had first seen them. They were looking down at him with blank expressions.
Juliel had gotten excited and leaped around by himself....
He didn't even have to look at the stinging wound on his neck to know what had happened.
Juliel fell over as the spear pierced into him. He could feel his chest tightening.
"I'll see you next time."
"Koo-koo. I will never have a reason to see you again."
He'll have to spent a long time in the darkness and the nothingness of death, but he would eventually be revived once again.
Juliel won't ever open a gate to earth again.
"You never know."
Woojin pushed the spear in deeper and completely severed Juliel's breath. A gray light surrounded his corpse, after which he dispersed into the air.
"Hoo. That was dangerous."
"Heh heh. Did I do well?"
"You did."
"That guy always falls for the same trick every time-ahong."
Woojin smirked as he petted Bibi's head.
Juliel's movement was a threat, since he had received the Blessing of the Wilderness. If he wasn't under the influence of the hallucination and Juliel targeted him in earnest, Woojin would have been in danger.
He had Warrior as his dual class, but he had put all of his bonus points into Control and Magic.
Even though he had used the Reinforcement Stones to increase his Stats, he only had a superior body compared to a human Roused. His strength and stamina wasn't high enough to face off against Trahnet's commanders.
Woojin touched the purple gem making the pillar of light at the middle of Juliel's nest.
Shoo-shoo-shoo-shoooong.
When he took out the gem, the pillar of light was withdrawn into the gem being held by Woojin's hand.
<You've earned a Dimensional Fragment.>
Woojin grinned.
He had all 3 pieces needed to obtain a Dimensional Domain.