Chapter 235: [235] Closing A -

Chapter 235: [235] Closing A Chapter

All the villagers gathered around the old contraption that had been left sitting for months, waiting to witness another miracle.

They were discussing among themselves, talking about how the Arctic Spider had apparently been defeated and about the ores that Ark’s party had brought, while eagerly waiting to see the results.

"Do not make your flames too intense. We only need to melt the ice coating it," Ark instructed Jenna, who was staring at the other side of the contraption.

She nodded, and then they both summoned their fire spells, moving the fire just over the surface of the reinforced steel.

After the ice had melted, Yrsa placed some of the pure, round ores they had obtained in the heating area and stepped away from the machine, ushering the village chief forward.

According to Olivia’s report, the ores were apparently in the purest form they could be found, all because the spider had basically eaten them and pooped them out.

There were over one hundred and fifty ores in total, and they had split them 70-30. Seventy percent went to Ark’s party, while the village got thirty percent.

Apart from the fact that they had done most of the work, the reason Ark had decided on the split was simple.

’All of this will soon vanish...’

Once the dungeon was cleared, the villagers would no longer have need for the ores because they would vanish along with the dungeon.

There were many players who would have taken everything and just left enough to complete their mission.

There were those who would slaughter the entire village since they were not exactly real people.

But that was a line Ark would never cross...

Because if you could kill people like this, then it was only a matter of time before you began killing Natives, and then people from Venaris.

Especially since the theory that these people were reflections from the past was the best one scientists currently had.

Once the village chief stepped onto the platform, the discussions ceased, and the people became quiet. It was almost as though he was in a ceremony...

He grabbed the lever that powered on the machine and held it for a few seconds, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Just a few days ago, they could not have dreamed of it, and yet, here they were...

He pulled the lever.

Nothing happened...

"..."

"It happens sometimes. Let me try it again." The village chief pulled the lever again, harder this time, but the results were the same. Pure, undiluted silence.

Ark gave him a judgmental stare. "I thought you guys said the machine was in perfect condition?"

"It was!" The chief ran a hand through his silver hair and cursed underneath his breath as he tugged the lever repeatedly. "Why the hell isn’t this working?"

His calm, mature personality was slowly vanishing, making him look a lot more like Harold...

After a few more tries, he finally gave up and sat down on the floor, his face downcast.

"Has this happened before?" Thalia asked as she stared at the large machine.

"Yes." The chief shook his head. "It doesn’t matter. It is impossible to fix it now."

"You have always been so pessimistic! What makes you think it’s impossible to fix?" Harold climbed up the stage and frowned at his brother. "The least you can do is let them try!"

"Aw, shut up!" The chief hissed. "If I am pessimistic, then you are way too optimistic! Do you know how much effort it took the last time?!"

As the brothers began their screaming competition, Ark turned to the quieter member of the family. "What are they arguing about?"

"There is actually a way to fix it." She stared up at the three colossal rings that were floating at the top of the contraption, held by some sort of strange force.

’This world must have been very advanced in magic tech before the collapse,’ Ark mused.

"...But I understand my father’s concern. It is basically impossible."

"And what method is this?" Olivia asked. It would be good to at least hear what the method was before crossing it out.

Yrsa pointed at the rings. "We have to force them to move..."

Olivia blinked. "You mean those giant rings?!"

They looked like they were made out of some sort of solid alloy. It was definitely not metal because it did not look like it.

Yrsa nodded. "Last time, we had to gather thirty Sunborns just to move it. That was before the war."

Ark eyed the rings with apprehension, then he summoned his steel webs, wrapping them over themselves several times to form a thick cord.

He tossed the cord and wrapped it around one of the rings, then took a stance as everyone turned their attention to him.

"We have to try at the very least, right?"

According to Yrsa, it had taken thirty Sunborns to move it the last time. Ark wondered how many players it would take.

He tried first, using Armament to reinforce his body as he tugged on the rope. The rings did not budge. They didn’t even twitch.

"Are you even trying?" Olivia smirked.

Ark glared at her, although his face was as still as always, and she stuck out her tongue.

One by one, more of the players joined Ark, and by the end of the day, it took the combined effort of everyone to finally move the rings.

The two rings began to spin slowly, and then gradually, their speed intensified, a bright blue, pulsing energy appearing between them as the ores began to burn.

Shortly after, a heatwave erupted from the machine, washing over the entire village, the temperature rising a few degrees.

It was still cold, but it felt like a mild winter rather than being plunged into a place colder than the North Pole...

A notification then appeared in front of Ark’s face, as well as the faces of all the players.

__

[Quest Complete!]

[The land beneath the storm]

Quest rewards: Wraith lamps (will be obtained as the story progresses)

Ding!

[You have won the hearts of the people!]

[You have unlocked a special scenario.]

[You have obtained a guide, Harold son of Nils.]

[You have obtained an aid, Yrsa Daughter of Nils]

__

Later that evening, the party members gathered in the humble living room of the village chief.

There was a detailed map sprawled out on the table, the one he had spent the last three days drawing and marking out.

"After our discussion, I went through our archives to find information about the Heart of Winter."

The chief placed a large book on top of the map and flipped through the pages.

"I didn’t find what I was looking for until yesterday..."

He stopped on a particular page, turned to Ark with a smile, and then he pushed the book to the side.

The chief then placed his finger on the map as he began to recite the poem from memory.

"Through the mists of Ever-white..."

His hand moved across the map, stopping at an area that he had drawn with smoky, cursive arcs.

"Past the harrows that lay within them..."

There was an image in the mist, a formless one.

"Up the ladder that leads to heaven."

There, he drew a thick rope that seemed to lead to nowhere.

"Down into the depths, where the devil sleeps."

This part of the map was darker than any other region. The chief tapped on it three times, and then said in a colder tone.

"That is where you will find the beast."

..

..

A/N

Now that the village arc is over, things are going to get a lot more... serious ;)