성황의 아이들 [3]

502

502. Manta Tribe (7)

Time in the dream passed quickly, and night fell on the swamp. The lycanthropes each went to their tents, and at some point, a quiet silence descended on the once lively camp.

'Why on earth am I here? I was going to take a quick look at the fleet, but I fell asleep... ... .'

Seongjin floated above the camp and looked up at the darkening sky.

'By the way, doesn't it seem like time passes quite quickly here? It seems like this isn't Delcross after all.'

If not, Edith would have woken Sungjin up a long time ago. She had told him to wake her up right away so that she could report to Sir Marsain when he returned.

'... ... ?'

But soon after, Sungjin was able to discover a crucial clue about this dream world. As the sun completely set over the horizon, a text window opened, clearly glowing beyond the darkening sky.

〚Regional Area Debuff Notification!〛

〚A regular wide-area debuff has been activated in the Solan Swamp area. HP will continuously decrease by 0.01% per minute until the sun rises tomorrow morning.〛

〚Tip! Want to resist debuffs? Then try making an easy natural debuff prevention agent! Dry wild chrysanthemums, rose geraniums, or cinnamon to make a sachet to prevent area-wide debuffs!〛

'Ah, this is the world of rules.'

Well, I guessed that it might be so, seeing that the already dead Bazra was moving around normally. It seems that Louise had done something to his soul stone.

But 0.01% per minute... What is this vague and insignificant damage?

After a moment of doubt, Sungjin was soon able to figure out what the wide-area debuff was. Soon, the lycanthropes' screams could be heard all over the camp.

"Eww! Mosquitoes! There are swamp mosquitoes in the tent!"

"Damn it! How on earth do these mosquitoes eat? How do these tiny grains of rice manage to pierce through this thick fur?"

Oh... If it's a regional wide-area debuff, then it means that you're guaranteed to get bitten, right? I hope there aren't any mosquito-borne diseases like malaria here.

Seongjin shook his head and turned around, flying towards the largest tent in the center of the camp. It was the tent of Louise, the lycanthrope's lord. Seongjin had a feeling that the reason he had come here was not unrelated to Louise.

As Sungjin seeped into the tent like fog, Louise was having a serious conversation with Bazra.

"You've been away for quite some time this time, Lady Louise."

"I'm sorry if I made you worry, Bazra. I have plenty of water, so I went to explore the desert area."

Despite the clear hierarchy, Louise's attitude toward Bazra was polite. Her obsessively polite attitude seemed to have not changed at all since her childhood.

"But there was no trace of the Kornsheim clan there either. Instead, I managed to find a few useful crystals on my way back."

Louise took out large stones from her bosom. They were strange, translucent-colored minerals, and at first glance they looked like large salt crystals or empty soul stones.

"I got lucky while hunting a herd of Nurmachi. If I just have this, I'll be able to have some free time for a while."

"...Lady Louise."

A pitiful light flashed in Bazra's eyes. He shouted urgently, not even paying attention to the decisions Louise had made.

"I told you over and over again that it was all pointless! So why are you still chasing Kornsim?"