World Fragment

Sung-jin descended some homemade wood stairs when he got to the exit of the hole. The view surprised him.

'It's actually quite amazing.'

He was stunned by the architecture. Big and tall buildings went up and down the sewer walls; if not for being in a sewer, it looked like it could be one of the biggest cities in Aephioros. The buildings were a combination of housing and shops looking more modern than medieval-style buildings in the rest of the cities.

'This was supposed to be an old sewer, but I guess these folks had other ideas.'

He looked at the passing people that walked on something similar to a sidewalk. They were chatting and going about their usual business like nothing was out of the ordinary.

'Uhm, how did I not notice this before? But isn't this sewer awfully big?'

Sung-jin took another look around before he got down to the end of the stairs. He was amazed that he didn't notice that the sewer was at least a hundred meters in height when he first came in. But its size also explained why it took so long to get here.

Ding-!

-System: Discovered 'Kintroies Underground City'

-System: First player to discover 'Kintroies Underground City' Award: 5 Stat Points.

"Wow!"

He exclaimed, making some passerby look at him weirdly. His emotions were all over the place at the moment, so he decided to take a quick break and think everything through. He saw there was a bench not far away from the stairs, so he went there and sat down.

'This is incredible. I didn't think I would discover anything like this when I got a rebirth. And the notifications said 'Kintroies Underground City.' Does that mean there are other underground cities too? And what is it with this giant sewer? Was it built by giants? And how can I be the only one to discover this area after five years?'

Sung-jin had a lot of questions, but he knew just sitting there wouldn't get them answered. He decided to look around and collect some information.

…

Swash-!

"Heal me!"

A tall blond man ordered the supports to heal him as he reflected the claws of a giant wolf-looking boss. It had gray fur and a mouth as big as a horse carriage with countless sharp teeth, and nasty drool that stank horribly. This boss intimidated the players that went up against it.

"Don't falter now!"

The blond continued as he could feel his HP go up. One of the supports had successfully healed him, and he could now take a few more hits by the wolf. But even though he was healed, this situation didn't look good.

'Damn it! Why did we have to encounter a world boss now, of all time?!'

He was exasperated, looking around to see who from his team was still able to fight. Not many still stood up. Most were lying helplessly on the cold forest ground waiting for someone to come to their aid.

"Mages, fire your strongest attack when I say so,"

He ordered, making the mages in the back pull themselves together and use whatever mana they had left. He dashed to the right, narrowly avoiding the attack from the wolf, tightly gripped the handle of his longsword, and prepared to use a skill.

"Now!"

He yelled, setting a chain reaction of skills in motion. The ten mages shot their skills right in the face of the wolf, making it flinch for a moment. This was the perfect opportunity for him to exploit the situation.

"Sword Dance!"

He exclaimed, and dozens of swords appeared in the air. The multiple swords his skill created quickly aimed at the upper chest of the wolf, slashing it numerous times.

"Now, let's get this over with!"

He said, jumping high in the air in front of the wolf's face. And with the wolf distracted by the constant pain in its chest, the blond slashed at its throat.

Ding-!

-System: World boss "Fenrir" defeated.

"Uhh!"

He groaned, gasping for breath. A silence had befallen the players as no one said a single thing after the Fenrir's death. The supports began to heal the wounded who lay scattered around the area.

"Guild master?"

One of the mages broke the silence and walked towards the blond man, but he didn't reply. He just stared at something he had in his hands, and he was completely engulfed in his thoughts.

'I don't get it… Why did it drop this, and what does it mean?'

The blond's thoughts were troubled.

'This is only the second of these things in the world, so I should be happy that it dropped it. But why does it feel so ominous?'

He opened the item description to take a closer look.

‎

-Item Description

World Fragment:

A piece of the world dropped very rarely by boss/world boss monsters. Its origins are unknown, and no one knows where it comes from. It is believed in the eastern continents that World Fragments are the literal souls of Gods, and when all fragments are together, salvation shall be enforced. The amount of World Fragments are unknown, and no one knows for sure its purpose.

‎

'I guess it goes in the collection then…'

He thought, making the World Fragment disappear into his inventory. After he was done with looting the Fenrir boss, he looked to see if everyone was okay.

"If anybody needs healing, say so! Don't play tough. You'll only look like a moron!"

He joked around, trying to get the mood up again. He could sigh a relief that no one died and everyone was fairly okay. But it was a close call this time.

'It happened just because we had to greet the newbies in Kintroies, and our strongest members are leveling. It's hard to be a guild leader.'

He raised his hand to his head after getting a slight headache.

"Is everyone ready? If so, let's continue!"

He asked everyone at the scene, and it seemed like everyone was ready to depart to Kintroies again.

…

"God damn it!"

Sung-jin pulled his hair out in frustration and kneeled on the ground, screaming like a madman. He wasn't getting any useful information even though he had asked countless shop owners and passersby.

'I'm going to give up! This city is sh*t, and it stinks too much!'

His thoughts were filled with only negative things about the Underground City. His sudden outbreak caught the attention of everyone in a fifty-meter radius, and people began to avoid him on the sidewalk.

"What is your problem, young man?"

Someone dared to approach the insane man on the ground, interrupting his outburst. The older man then extended his hand down to help Suing-jin stand.

"Thanks,"

He said after he stood up again. The older man that helped him up proceeded to continue the conversation.

"Is there something this old fart can help you with?"

His brittle voice asked him again. Sung-jin could see in the glinting eyes of the older man that he was very interested in him.

'Why does he look at me like that?'

He thought as the older man pleasantly smiled at him.

"Yes, you can,"

He answered steadfastly and with a determination in his voice. He was tired of running around asking random people for information; this was a golden opportunity. He couldn't slip up.

"Good, come with me to a quieter place."

The older man turned around with a wink, and he began to move along the sidewalk. He was unsteady on his feet, so he had to use a cane. But other than that, it seemed like the older man was quite active despite his age.

…

After walking down the pathway for about fifteen minutes, less and less buildings could be seen, and only a small building at the end of the sewer appeared.

"Here we are,"

The older man said before opening the door into his house. Or what was supposed to be a house.

'This looks more like a shed to me than a house.'

Sung-jin examined the house with discontented eyes. He had expected something more for the long walk. But then again, this shed was more within the expectations he had set for himself before coming to the Underground City. So, he was actually glad that he wasn't so wrong in thinking that this was the standard.

"Come on in,"

The man said with a trembling voice, welcoming him into his house. It only took Sung-jin one step into the house before he knew what he had to deal with.

'This man,'

He thought surprised, looking around the house only to see trophies of monsters he had killed hung and placed all over the living room, seemingly intimidating anyone who stepped inside of his house.

"What exact information are you seeking, young one?"

The houseowner asked sitting down at a nearby table. The presence he emitted after stepping inside his house was somehow changed, and the fragile old man Sung-jin had seen him for, now looked more like a veteran warrior. But the atmosphere couldn't be more perfect for him.

"You see…"

Sung-jin smirked as he sat at the same table as the old man. The respect the older man had tried to establish was completely shot down by Sung-jin.