Chapter 271: Goddess of Death's Land

The raid team returned to Altein. Then, they gathered at the Holiseum's underground auditorium in order to divide the loot.

"There are five items in total." Kang Oh pulled out the dropped items.

Travium had dropped Glacier's Tear, a Portal Opening Crystal, Frozen Heart, Unmelting Ice, and a grimoire. Frozen Heart was an S-rank necklace, while Unmelting Ice was an S-rank material. The grimoire taught the 'Blizzard' spell.

"My companions and I get 50%, and the 100 Fighters and Rakan Priests get the other 50%," Kang Oh said.

"How are we going to split it?" Dion asked.

"Give us the Glacier's Tear and you can keep everything else. How does that sound?"

"Mr. Kang Oh!" Eder suddenly stood up.

'Then they'll get the crystal!'

They needed the crystal to access the next area, the Goddess of Death's land, so his reaction was understandable.

Kang Oh raised his hand and stopped him. He glanced at him, seemingly saying, 'Stay out of this!'.

"Why don't you give us the Glacier's Tear and take everything else?" Dion said.

"No thank you," Kang Oh said decisively.

"No deal." Dion grinned.

"Then let's deal with the Glacier's Tear later. How about we take two of the four remaining items each?"

"Hmm." Dion stroked his chin and whispered to Merlin. "Alright, let's do it," Dion, who'd finished consulting with Merlin, agreed.

"I'll go first. In exchange, you can take two items at once. I'll take whatever's left."

"Understood."

"Mr. Kang Oh!" Eder desperately stared at Kang Oh.

'Please pick the crystal!'

Kang Oh just grinned and picked the crystal.

"Ooh, thank you very much!" Eder clasped his hands and reverently looked at him.

'I love you, Mr. Kang Oh!'

"Then is it my turn? Ms. Merlin, please choose," Dion said.

Merlin picked the S-rank necklace, Frozen heart, and the S-rank material, the Unmelting Ice. All that was left was the Blizzard Grimoire.

Kang Oh stashed the grimoire and said, "How are we going to deal with the Glacier's Tear?"

"Let's hold an auction. Then, we can just divide the gold," Dion said.

"Does anyone disagree with Mr. Dion or have a different idea?" Kang Oh took a look around. No one raised their hand. "Alright then. Let's begin the auction for the Glacier's Tear."

The auction began, but it didn't last long. Dion immediately bid 20,000 gold, buying the Glacier's Tear immediately.

"Nice." Dion stroked the Glacier's Tear and smiled in satisfaction.

Kang Oh didn't have any problems with it either. After all, he'd just made 10,000 gold! Of course, he'd have to give Sephiro 15% of it, but it was still 8,500 gold!

Once they were finished dividing the loot, the raid team went their separate ways. The 100 Fighters, Dion, and Darion went to the pub, while the Rakan Priests returned to the church.

"We have to go." Eder shook the crystal.

"Yeah." Kang Oh nodded his head.

The Goddess of Death's land, and the Great Temple of Death within it, was waiting for them.

* * *

After thoroughly preparing themselves, Kang Oh, Eder, and Sephiro gathered in Saharamant.

Gyaa.

Waryong, who'd briefly been left with the Tamer Guild, had returned. It poked its head out from Sephiro's buxom. Like most babies, Waryong was quite cute. It was like a baby crocodile.

"Aww." Sephiro stroked its head; it was just the cutest thing.

"Mm."

Eder was clearly excited. His scythe holding hand trembled, a clear indication of his anxiety and excitement. It was only natural. All this time, his only wish had been to reach the Great Temple of Death.

"Let's go." Kang Oh pulled out the crystal.

"Yes," Eder and Sephiro simultaneously replied.

Gyaa!

Even Waryong voiced its approval.

Kang Oh forcefully threw the crystal. The crystal cracked in midair and the crystal fragments formed into an oval shape, which served as the outer rim of the portal.

Whir.

A portal opened from within the ring.

[You have opened the door to the Goddess of Death's Land.]

[The door will remain open for 1 hour.]

Kang Oh went first, and Eder and Sephiro followed behind him.

A short while later...

A portal formed within an arch-shaped construction, and out came Kang Oh's party.

[You have arrived in Despia, the Goddess of Death's Land.]

Kang Oh took a look around.

As always, the ceiling was pitch black. Whenever he looked at the ceiling, he realized that Despia was a subterranean world.

Spheres were closely embedded in the ceiling, all of which radiated intense light. They made it look like it was 12:00 in the day. Plus, Kang Oh saw a ton of giant, strangely shaped, exotic trees around him.

Did the spheres act as mini suns? Is that the reason for the overgrown thicket and the trees? Kang Oh thought back to the amazon rainforest he'd seen on TV.

To put it simply, this place was...

"A jungle," Kang Oh muttered.

"I don't sense any monsters nearby," Sephiro said.

"Where should we... go?" Eder asked. In other words, 'Which way do we go to reach the Temple of Death?'.

"We head for the highest point," Kang Oh said.

He had absolutely no information on the Goddess of Death's land. If that's the case, then they needed to find the highest point possible, and get a rough grasp of the layout here.

Kang Oh's party pushed through the thicket.

How much time had passed?

"It's an Agrashi tree." Sephiro pointed. It was indeed an Agrashi tree, a tree known for growing indefinitely.

The Agrashi tree was smaller than the norm, but it was still much larger than the trees surrounding it. It was high enough that they'd be able to see everything around them if they climbed to the top of it!

"I'll climb it." Sephiro volunteered.

"I'll go with you," Kang Oh said. He wanted to see the lay of the land with his own two eyes.

"I'll be waiting for you," Eder said.

A Lich's physical abilities were pathetic. Thus, it would be impossible for him to climb a tree, let alone an Agrashi tree.

"Yeah, you do that." Kang Oh nodded his head. If he needed him, he could just summon him.

"Then, I'll go first." Sephiro quickly climbed the tree like a squirrel. Kang Oh also climbed the tree without difficulty.

Sometime later, Kang Oh and Sephiro reached the top, allowing them to see the entirety of the jungle. The jungle went on and on with no end in sight, and a huge river flowed through the jungle. From afar, they could see a majestic mountain that reminded them of Baekdusan Mountain.

Plus...

"There's a village over there."

Kang Oh could clearly see a village that was surrounded by a wooden fence! Their initial destination was decided.

* * *

"Something's fast approaching!" Sephiro yelled, having sensed a monster.

Then, something popped out of the brush. It was a spider. It looked like a red-spotted tarantula, and was about as large as a person's head.

Kang Oh drew Blood, while Sephiro pulled twin axes from his waist.

"A Taranos! Its poison is incurable, so don't let it hit you!" Eder quickly yelled.

"Ok!"

"Understood!"

Kang Oh and Sephiro heeded his warning. They didn't rush in and decided to focus entirely on defense, letting it make the first move.

Eder summoned a ton of bone, creating a bunker. He wouldn't allow himself to be bitten no matter what!

Ten of the spiders surrounded Kang Oh's party. Then, they rushed at them simultaneously.

'They're fast.'

The Taranos were extremely quick and agile, and were capable of leaping great distances. Moreover, their poison was fatal.

They rushed at Kang Oh from every direction, baring their poisonous fangs.

However...

What was Kang Oh's specialty again?

He was an evasion master with Hyper Intuition. Like a man possessed, he dodged all of their attacks and continuously swung his sword.

Swish, slash, swish, slash!

He cleaved through the spiders again and again. At some point, all fifteen red stars had appeared along Blood's length.

Blood Bomb!

A blood red blast exploded outwards.

Boom!

Those caught in the explosion fell to the floor.

Kang Oh had no reason to stop. He stomped on a fallen Taranos, and began attacking another one.

Sephiro was going crazy. The spiders were attacking him from every possible angle!

"Uhahp!" He relentlessly swung his axes around, and violently moved around. That was his only recourse.

Guu, guu.

Waryong groaned from within his chest. Sephiro was moving so violently that Waryong was getting hurt.

However, Sephiro couldn't stop himself. So long as he didn't want to get a taste of their fatal poison, that is.

"Just hold out for a little bit," Sephiro whispered, and then focused on the battle once more.

On the contrary, Eder was doing just fine. He'd hidden his body within his bone bunker, and the Taranos were unable to crush or break through it!

Eder looked through the opening, and then cast various spells.

Bone Spike! Bone Bind!

Bone Spear! Bone Bomb!

Sometime later...

The Taranos began to fall one or two at a time, and Kang Oh finished off the last one with a swipe of his sword.

[You have defeated a Taranos.]

"Phew." Sephiro caught his breath and checked on Waryong.

Eder got rid of the bone bunker, approached Kang Oh and Sephiro, and looked them over.

"You weren't bitten, were you?"

"Nope."

"No."

Kang Oh and Sephiro simultaneously replied.

"That's a relief. The Taranos' poison is one of the 10 most lethal poisons in the world. If the poison spreads, then there's nothing that can be done."

"I'll keep my guard up," Sephiro said.

After collecting the junk items, Kang Oh's party headed for the village.

However...

The Taranos were just the beginning.

The Goddess of Death's Land was the deepest section of Despia. Thus, it was filled with extremely dangerous and powerful monsters.

They encountered Reaper Frogs, which possessed poison on the same level as the Taranos! Their poison was also one of the ten most lethal poisons in the world. Not to mention the Cordoma, giant lizards that possessed acid that could melt through anything! They also encountered Giant Krugers, which were a step up from the giant-mouthed Krugers from the Great Forest!

None of them were easy to defeat. Each of them had weapons that could prove fatal to Kang Oh's party.

The Giant Krugers posed an especially large threat to them, as they had a ton of HP, and possessed such high combat ability and brutality that made them the most difficult opponent to beat thus far.

However, Kang Oh's party didn't let any of these monsters stop them; they killed anything that got in their way and eventually made it to the village.

It was the village surrounded by a wooden fence!

Once they approached the tightly shut door, they heard someone speak from atop the wooden fence.

"Get lost, outsiders!" a fully armed, middle-aged woman with big, bright eyes yelled. There was a row of men beside her with their bows at the ready.

"Hello, I'm an adventurer. My name is Kang Oh..." Kang Oh raised his hands as if surrendering. He was trying his damndest to show that he wasn't a threat to them.

"I don't want to hear it. If you don't leave, then we'll turn you into porcupines!" the middle-aged woman yelled angrily.

"Wait, so what I'm saying is..." Kang Oh began, but he was interrupted this time.

Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!

All of a sudden, arrows came flying at him.

Kang Oh, Eder, and Sephiro quickly threw themselves out of harm's way.

Whizz! Whizz!

The arrows kept coming.

"We should leave for now," Sephiro said.

"I guess we should."

Ultimately, Kang Oh's party wasn't able to make any progress and was forced to leave the village.