Survival Story of a Sword King in a Fantasy World
Chapter 78

Ice-Flame Forest (3)

The forest burned ceaselessly.

High heat and smoke covered the entire place.

Black ashes flew along with the hot winds as flames continued to rage among the barren ground.

That was the reality of the Ice-Flame Forest in Hithran’s Magras Dungeon.

Among the Four Prohibited Areas, Hithran was notorious for its uniquely extreme environment.

It was the hardest Dungeon of Hithran. From the ‘Boiling Water World,’ the other world’s energy flowed in endlessly, causing the surroundings’ balance to explode.

Therefore, most of the Hithran Dungeons were either scorching beyond recovery or extremely frozen.

It was also the reason why that area was called the Ice-Flame Forest.

Magras Dungeon, made up of burning forests, had dozens of monsters standing in the heat.

[Race: Flame Giant Lv. 65]

Despite their strength, those red-hot bronze giants were just low-level monsters in the Ice-Flame Forest.

Hithran was designated as one of the Four Prohibited Areas.

Looking at the Flame Giants standing in front of his eyes, Ryu Han-bin put his hand in his pocket.

He took out a sandwich and chewed on it.

“I’m hungry.”

He couldn’t be any more relaxed.

But it wasn’t because there wasn’t a reason.

The Flame Giants just stood there.

They were already groaning with pieces of black rocks or logs stuck in their abdomen.

They had been beaten so hard they couldn’t even lift a finger. It had gone to the point where the monsters remained stuck in their positions as they died.

Of course, it was all Ryu Han-bin’s fault.

The battle was over, and they had already finished clearing the surrounding lands to make it easier to eat. All they needed to do was settle down for a late lunch.

With his sword in one hand, Han-bin continued to eat his sandwich.

It was made with high-quality bread, ground jam of half-cut boiled potato and pickled cabbage, and thick pork slice. It had an excellent taste.

It was delicious even for Koreans in the 21st century who were addicted to all kinds of spices and condiments.

Nevertheless, Ryu Han-bin looked displeased.

“Oh, I want to eat ramen…”

No, it was not just ramen.

He wanted to eat rice.

To be more precise, he wanted to chew kimchi on freshly cooked white rice.

“Oh, shit, I’m drooling just thinking about it.”

It was only natural.

Koreans who had gone abroad craved rice and kimchi all the time.

He used to laugh at people for talking about it when he was watching them on TV. Han-bin had been told that it was the same song all the time.

But now, he could understand their sentiments.

There was no room for creativity to intervene in real longing.

It had been months since he came to that world.

It had already been several decades since he left Korea if he included the time he spent at the Rocky Mountain.

He missed home.

He missed Korea.

He missed the world he was familiar with and regular people.

“Well, I don’t miss it as much as the characters in movies do.”

He had already adapted a lot to that world.

He met good colleagues like Artis and Effir.

There was a time when he thought that if someone told him to continue living there, he would be able to manage.

However, it was also too much.

Every time he used the pseudonym Felard Bean and disguised himself as a Valtara warrior, he kept being reminded that he was fake.

Furthermore, he couldn’t use his fake identity forever.

Aliens did not get old.

They couldn’t dwell in one place.

They had to wander around the world like duckweed every few years.

Of course, there must be some people in the world whose appearances remained unchanged for about a decade.

The problem was that it was widely known that Aliens never aged.

Even Latna people, who were in truth just young, were dragged and caused to suffer.

‘Though the parties could be unjust, Latna’s human rights aren’t developed enough to compensate for the injustice.’

If human rights had developed to that extent, there would have been no crazy system like Hunter’s Registration that could bury past crimes.

Han-bin muttered, chewing and swallowing his sandwich.

“I want to go back.”

Of course, if he went back to Ryu Han-bin at 24, he would’ve had a lot more trouble choosing his path.

‘I’ve got this incredible body and power, and I’m going to lose it all?’

‘It’s better to just stay in this world.’

Fortunately, according to Kibie, Han-bin’s physical strength and ability could be transferred to Earth.

It was just moving from one world to another.

‘If I ask her to send me back to the time when I was 24, she would say it’s impossible, right?’

In other words, the compensation of the Guideline, which stated that they would be returned to Earth with their abilities in Latna only if one of the six Goddesses were eliminated, was nothing more than a sham.

“But what do I do with this ability when I go back to Korea? Should I be a mixed martial artist?”

He didn’t want to walk around in costumes like a part of a superhero movie.

Ryu Han-bin smiled bitterly.

“I don’t know even know if I’ll be able to go back, yet I’m already thinking about what I’d do once I’ve returned.”

‘Is it because I met the Goddess in person and heard the answer from her?’

Once he fell in thought, he couldn’t stop it.

He glanced across the burning forest.

Between the shaking haze, a colossal red Dragon and a silver-maned Wyvern stood in front of a pile of monsters, listening to the nagging of a black-haired beauty.

“Come on! Can you hurry up and eat them all? You need to level up!”

“Oh, Kibie, my stomach’s about to burst…”

“Why would your stomach explode when you absorb energy? If it explodes, the core will explode!”

“No, isn’t that even more of a problem, Kibie?”

“It’s okay, Artis. I made the Dragon race strong. It will not happen. It will not happen.”

Han-bin laughed as he watched the scene.

He thought it would be quite regrettable to part with them later.

“Yeah, right now, I have to be true to my reality.”

He shouted at the Party with all the remaining sandwiches in his mouth.

“Clear it quickly and come here! I’m going to finish this, too!”

The pale Dragon and Wyvern shook their heads.

Ryu Han-bin pretended to ignore them, swinging his sword down.

But he held himself back just before it hit.

There were still many nutritious monsters left in the Magras dungeon.

“Then I’ll drive the others here!”

Artis’s scream reverberated over the burning forest.

“Oh, please slow down!”

* * *

Pavelan was a mighty warrior who turned 30 that year.

He was still young yet had already reached level 61 and mastered Aura. He also gained superhuman strength.

Born in the Deltas Kingdom, the northern frontier, he had an outstanding sword-fighting talent, which he discovered at an early age.

Like most geniuses, he joined the Hunter Guild and soon stood out.

Before becoming a twenty-year-old, he had already gone past level 40, then went past level 50 when he was twenty-five years old to become a special hunter.

He was one of the most remarkable Hunters in the Deltas Kingdom.

The royal family would often invite him and hire him.

But Pavelan rejected their offers.

He dreamed of a brighter future.

To be more robust, he advanced into the middle of the continent to reach higher levels.

Upon reaching the destination, he continued to attack Dungeons and ceaselessly improved his skills.

Soon enough, he finally reached level 60, earning the right to enter the Four Prohibited Areas, his lifelong dream.

He set a grand goal and arrived in Serhithran.

Indeed, the world was wide.

Pavelan, which had been called a genius, was just one of the ordinary Hunters around the Ice-Flame Forest.

More powerful Hunters than him walked around the streets.

Still, Pavelan was not disappointed.

He was still young.

There was enough time left for him to surpass everyone.

But…

“Uhhhhhh…”

He was dying in the back alley of his dream city.

“Now that I’ve cut off your leg, your arm should be next, right?”

The white-haired woman smiled brightly.

A spiritual skill cut off Pavelan’s left arm.

“Argh!”

With a scream, his left arm flew into the air.

He settled down gently next to his severed legs.

Pavelan cried out in pain.

“Why! Why us!”

As usual, he finished his Dungeon Raid with his teammates and had a nice drink at the pub.

On the way back to the inn, he was suddenly attacked by three individuals whom he had never seen before.

They were overwhelmingly strong.

Their party was composed of him, a level 61 Warrior, Kate, a level 62 Mage, Ballas, a level 61 Spiritist, and their team leader, Moria, a level 65 Magic Swordsman. Yet none of them managed to hold out against the trio.

He couldn’t understand at all.

Why would such a high-level Hunter attack them?

But their reason was simple.

“Because I want to kill you.”

“Ahhhh!”

Soon, Pavelan’s death dominated the darkness of the night.

Grace, who was playing with him, eventually blew his head off.

Her face was beet-red as she shivered.

“Oh, good… How long has it been since I last killed people?”

They didn’t dare appear before others though they had been freed from Akhtarun and came to Serhithran.

It was because of the ‘voice’ that Garhan engraved on their brains.

They could be freed from the yoke when they arrived in this city.

Another scream echoed right next to him.

“Ah! Save me…!”

It was the last cry of Pavelan’s teammate and team leader, Moria.

Maxwell, a brown-haired Mage who destroyed her with magic, grinned, causing his bloodshot eyes to squint.

“As expected, high-level Latnains’ experience rewards are great.”

Ruslan clicked his tongue, wiping the blood from his blade.

“Aren’t you all too drunk?”

Grace gave a sidelong scowl.

“Ruslan, you’re just as drunk as we are, aren’t you?”

He smiled bitterly.

He certainly wasn’t in a position to talk to others.

He was also very excited when he beat up the Spiritist named Ballas.

“Well, there’s one left…”

Ruslan turned his head.

He looked at Kate, the fallen Mage.

“We’re gonna have to kill her altogether, right?”

Maxwell and Grace shook their heads.

“Is that necessary?”

“Change it to party play mode, and then kill her. The experience should be split equally, right?”

“You’re right. I forgot about the party play. I didn’t have to do it in Akhtarun.”

Pulling out his sword, Ruslan approached Kate.

Desire flashed through his eyes.

“It’s a bit sad to kill her. She has a pretty face.”

Kate was hopeful that they would let her live for a moment.

Even so, she used to hear a lot that she was beautiful among Hunters.

But she lost her hope almost immediately.

“But it’s better to kill a high-level like her than to commit something else.”

Without hesitation, Ruslan stabbed the blade into Kate’s heart.

“Uh, uh…”

The light gradually faded from her trembling eyes.

At the same time, the same message appeared in front of Ruslan, Maxwell, and Grace.

[Eliminated Lv. 62 Wizard. You have earned 3,857,250 XP.]

[Party play mode is active. Experience is distributed to party members equally.]

[You have earned 1,285,750 XP.]

[Additional compensation for killing the natives will be given.]

The ‘compensation’ of the Guideline flew through the vessels.

It stimulated the nerve center and reached the brain, giving it the pleasure of death.

“Hah! Mm-hmm!”

“Hahaha…”

“Hehehe…”

Wallowing in ecstasy, the Earthlings were boundlessly delighted.