The Chain Throne (2)
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The magical winds that had only been sensed through intuition before now reached him through all his senses, creating a peculiar sensation. The air was filled with the tangled sources of countless spells, and it was a strange feeling to perceive them so vividly.
Colors swirled like paint being mixed, and the noise was like the chatter of children. There was a mysterious touch on his skin and a complex aroma that danced on his tongue.
The intensity of these sensations was almost overwhelming, likely because his sensory abilities were nearing the limits of human capacity. Yet, even with the stimuli pounding into his mind at several times the usual intensity, his intelligence, also nearing its peak, was more than capable of handling it.
“Phew.”
He quickly filtered out the unnecessary stimuli, categorizing the thousands of magical flows by type and nature. After a few deep breaths, his senses cleared, just as they had been before.
The difference now was that, over his usual five senses and intuition, there was a new layer—a clear perception of the magical winds, like a filter laid over everything else. It didn’t interfere with his other senses; in fact, it seemed like something that could be quite useful with further study.
Just as his skills had expanded when he surpassed certain thresholds, the increased magical power seemed to offer a wide range of applications.
‘Let’s go.’
Dalen resumed his steps, moving past the marker of where he had been before, heading in a new direction. Finding his way wasn’t difficult.
Amidst the countless flows of magical winds that covered the sky, there was one familiar current, distinct and less threatening than the hellish magic surrounding it.
‘This is a type of magical wind that can only be found in the labyrinth. I should follow it.’
It was like following a stream in a deep cave to find the exit. This place was a shadow of hell, crafted by the power of Kalkas. To return to the original labyrinth, one needed to follow the labyrinth’s magical wind.
Of course, identifying and following a single type of magical wind among the countless tangled flows was no easy task. Only a wizard who had deeply studied spells for a long time could discern such a flow through careful observation. Or, like Dalen, one could surpass the limits of their species in magical sensitivity.
Clink. Clink.
Regardless, Dalen traced the flow of the magical wind, like following the roots of a split tree. This way, he wouldn’t lose his way again.
But before he could escape this hell, there was one more thing he needed to do.
‘I need to get the item.’
The Heir DLC.
In this savage and dangerous world, it was one of the two gifts bestowed upon him. No matter how many times he had experienced this world, without the ability to utilize that experience, it was useless.
In that sense, the inflated initial stats ensured his short-term survival. The Heir DLC, however, was the decisive factor that allowed him to grasp something beyond mere survival.
‘But it was also an unknown system whose principles I couldn’t understand.’
After countless failures, he had purchased the DLC in a fit of frustration, abandoning even his resolve to refrain from spending money. In his excitement, he hadn’t bothered to read the description properly.
Of course, the basics were easy to grasp. Recovering the body of a strength character would grant strength stats, while a wizard’s body would yield spell skills or related stats.
But among the myriad items and skills, what criteria determined the rewards? It took a long time to figure that out.
‘I think I’m finally starting to get a sense of it.’
Dalen had recovered dozens of bodies so far. Through the accumulated data, he had formulated a plausible hypothesis.
It was a complex formula that synthesized the value and potential of each stat, skill, and item. More specifically, it mixed the detailed grades and abilities of each item, the difficulty of acquisition, usage restrictions, monetary value, and reputation to determine their superiority.
The reward selection method was to convert all the character’s holdings into equivalent values and then distribute the most valuable items, including the minimum required stats, in order.
Without the superhuman intelligence stat that resided in this body, he wouldn’t have dared to reverse-engineer it.
‘My head is throbbing.’
Dalen scratched his head with the handle of his axe and quickened his pace. Having established a hypothesis over a long period, it was time to move to the verification stage.
Through the two bodies he could find in the shadow of this hell.
Finding the bodies didn’t take long. Amidst the tangled magical winds, he suddenly discovered a flow that tugged at his steps.
···. ······.
It was a dull, ashen flow. It smelled like a musty room, tickling his lungs. It was the sound of a motorcycle horn from outside the window, and at the same time, the salty taste of fried chicken grease.
“…Damn it.”
Dalen shook his head to break the reverie. Following the faint magical wind, he found the body.
[You have discovered the body of a paladin who sought to vanquish demons.]
“It really was here.”
Dalen was genuinely impressed. He hadn’t been sure while following the trail. The magical flow was so out of place in this world that he had only considered it a fifty-fifty chance.
‘This is a different problem I hadn’t considered.’
Dalen stroked his chin thoughtfully. The ashen body he had dismissed as an illusion. The faint new magical flow emerging from the remnants of past gameplay beyond the monitor.
‘Do other wizards not sense this flow?’
Wizards were a rare profession. Only two or three out of a hundred had proper magical talent. But the continent was vast, and there were countless wizards in terms of sheer numbers.
Among them were many great wizards who had established vast domains, like Felber. There were also ancient beings who, though they didn’t show themselves openly, manipulated the world from behind the scenes.
If such transcendents could sense this alien magical wind, they might notice that something was there, even if they couldn’t see the body. That would be troublesome for Dalen, who needed to recover as many bodies as possible.
[What is here…?]
‘Nothing. Do you not sense anything unusual in the magical wind?’
[Amidst the hellish magical winds… there is a faint scent of the labyrinth. But tracking it is difficult. My power hasn’t recovered to that extent.]
At least the demons couldn’t sense it. Perhaps, just as others couldn’t see the bodies, this faint magical wind was something only he could perceive. Of course, if it were a great demon or a demon god, it might be a different story. But that wasn’t something to worry about right now.
Dalen tucked this topic neatly into a corner of his mind and reached out to the body.
Rustle.
The ashen shadow turned to dust, drawn to his fingertips like iron filings to a magnet.
[You have recovered the body of a paladin who sought to vanquish demons. You will inherit its abilities.]
[Inheritance Reward: Strength +2, Fourth Fragment of the Twelve Holy Spears]
Crunch—
His muscles, like boulders, twitched with the long-awaited increase in strength, and a shimmering object appeared in the air, slowly descending into his hand.
Swish.
Wrapped in pure white cloth, the long rod-shaped object was a fragment of the Holy Spear. It was one of the items that would be useful during the massive monster invasions in the mid-to-late game.
‘At least this confirms that the formula is roughly correct.’
[Body of a Paladin Who Sought to Vanquish Demons]
The body he had just recovered belonged to a paladin character built entirely for strength. As a paladin, he possessed several skills, and he was equipped with rare items for the expedition to hunt high-level demons.
However, according to the hypothesis he had formulated, there were only two rewards he could obtain from this body.
A strength stat in the late twenties. And a powerful holy relic capable of holding back thousands of monsters.
‘I’ll be able to confirm it once more when I recover the next body.’
With that thought, Dalen moved on, and it wasn’t long before he found the second body.
[You have discovered the body of the unfortunate master of the curved sword.]
[You have recovered the body of the unfortunate master of the curved sword. You will inherit its abilities.]
[Inheritance Reward: Dexterity +1, Elixir of Falling Stars]
This confirmed the hypothesis he had set up twice. And considering his future plans, being able to predict the inheritance rewards was more valuable than anything else.
‘I need to hurry before it’s too late. Sienna should be reaching her limit soon.’
Dalen carefully stored the elixir in his subspace and was about to head for the exit when someone called his name.
“Dalen?”
It was a low, husky voice, half-raspy. Dalen almost reflexively threw his axe but managed to stop himself when he recognized the owner of the weary voice.
“Dalen! It really is you! I can’t believe it, what a relief. Do you know how scared I was!”
From the empty void emerged a dwarf, wrapped head to toe in explosives and extra ammunition.
This was no ordinary dwarf, but a legendary craftsman known as the One-Eyed Master, his single eye swollen and red with fear.
Five minutes.
That was how long it took for Bjorn Kaladrakum, one of the legendary artisans known as the One-Eyed Master, to collapse into tears.
“Sniff, thank you. Having you here eases my mind a bit. You wouldn’t know, but I have terrible memories associated with the forest. I’d rather shove a bomb down a demon’s throat than go through that again!”
The dwarf wiped his eyes and shook the tears from his beard. He mentioned something about an incident in the forest during his childhood. It was too personal to share in detail, but being surrounded by those grotesque trees brought back the nightmare of that day.
‘In the game, he was always a hard character to get personal information from. I never knew he had such a past.’
At least he was fine with ordinary forests, and he could manage if there were enough people around.
‘But what kind of person, terrified as he is, walks around strapped with enough explosives to blow up a major facility?’
He had even used rune magic and a secret heirloom to remain hidden from Dalen’s senses. With all those bombs, he looked like a terrorist ready to demolish a key structure.
When I subtly asked about it, Bjorn cleared his throat and replied.
“Well, the more scared you are, the bigger the explosion you should prepare, right? If I’m going down, I’m not going alone.”
“…”
“A life ending in gunpowder and explosions, how glorious is that?”
His mindset seemed eerily similar to those terrorists who invoke the name of God in the Middle East.
Rubbing his temples to ease the headache, Dalen decided to change the subject.
“How did you find this place?”
Dalen had already guessed that Bjorn had failed the Test of Wisdom. He was a hero with the craftsmanship and senses of an artisan, combined with the strength and stamina of a dwarf. He could use rune magic, but it was more of a supporting role, so his magic power wasn’t particularly high.
What he hadn’t expected was how Bjorn had found his way here.
‘It’s about a five-minute walk to the exit from here. It’s practically right around the corner.’
Dalen recalled the fate of the character he had just retrieved, the unfortunate master of the curved sword. Cursed by an immortal demon, he had no choice but to face the boss battle with Kalkas. Knowing the strategy, finding the path wasn’t difficult, but the accumulated curses led to the character’s death just before reaching the exit.
In reality, the exit was just a stone’s throw away.
Bjorn, with his limited knowledge of spells and relatively low magic power, shouldn’t have been able to reach this place in time.
“I was too scared to think straight, so I just followed my instincts.”
“…I see.”
Maybe he just had good instincts. It seemed like something to investigate further later.
In any case, time was short. Dalen moved quickly, taking the real Bjorn with him.
After about five minutes of walking, as expected, the exit appeared.
Or rather, it was more accurate to call it the final test.
A wall of shattered space blocked their path, like a broken mirror, the space itself distorted.
The surface of the barrier constantly broke apart and reformed, reflecting countless different places as it changed.
“I saw a similar spell during a joint study with the Magic Tower once. Of course, it took a dozen mages to complete, and it wasn’t nearly this large… The point is, this wall can only be seen as a spell.”
Bjorn spoke in his usual rational tone, adding with a hint of regret.
“It can’t be helped. We’ll have to find another way.”
“What do you mean?”
“I know you have some incredible magical artifacts, but that wall won’t be affected much by spells relying on tools.”
Dalen raised an eyebrow. On reflection, he could see why Bjorn might think that.
The synergy between the sword of Leredonara and spells was so strong that he often used the weapon to enhance the power of spells.
“Maybe there’s another path. We should go back the way we came and—”
“No need.”
Dalen interrupted the dwarf and took a step forward.
With a smooth motion, he raised his hand and focused on the barrier.
A low hum began to resonate as his magic stirred.
His skills influenced most abilities.
Magic, the very foundation of spells.
Both attributes had reached superhuman levels, and it was time to test just how far he could push the spells he had learned without relying on the power of the domain.